Terra Nova - After the Occupation
by George Tater
Summary: Almost a month after the occupation ends in Terra Nova, life is finally beginning to settle into a new normal. So what happens when a body is discovered up near Snakehead Falls? How will the colony react when their worst enemy is once again dropped on their doorstep?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:  
****Though I have a great amount of affection for the people and places mentioned in this story, I own the rights to only a few of them. ****The series Terra Nova and all that is included under its banner are owned by FOX, and the talented writers that created it. **

**Dedicated to my sister Ruthie.  
****Without her advice and encouragement, I would never have finished or even continued this story, without witnessing her enjoyment of it, I wouldn't have believed it was any good, and without her sense of humour to spark off my own, it wouldn't have been half as interesting.  
****And to the creators of this short-lived, but awesome show, without whom, obviously, the characters and the universe they live in would not have existed in the first place.**

**=)**

**Terra Nova**

**After the Occupation**

**Chapter 1**

Skye rambled along beside the creek which would eventually lead to her destination, stepping carefully over jagged rocks and odd bits of viney plants that seemed to be popping up all over the place. She knew the area well, despite the fact that she had been forbidden to set foot near the place .. but that seemed an eternity ago. She glanced around at the trees hedging her in on either side and every now and then stopped to listen. All she heard was the faint sound of rushing water, and the happy chirping of a few native birds - birds whose names she'd long since given up trying to pronounce. The world seemed peaceful and safe, but one could never be too careful. One's world could be turned upside down in an instant. This she knew all too well. As she continued her trek, Skye pondered the events of the past few weeks. After the siege on Terra Nova had ended, its uprooted inhabitants had attempted to continue normal life as best they could. She had moved out of her shared house and in with her mother, back to the little house they had shared once, long ago. It was still somewhat surreal to have her mother back, but it was the one bright spot in a haze of repairs and funerals.

The roar of water was growing increasingly louder now. Skye jumped lightly from one rock to another, smiling to herself as she remembered her reason for escaping the colony. Finally, the gloomy fog that had held Terra Nova in its grasp for the past few months had begun to loosen its grip. The markets and school had reopened, the colony was looking almost normal again .. but STILL Josh Shannon insisted on checking up on her all the time! "Overprotective" would have been a gross understatement. She could barely make it through the morning without hearing a "Hey Skye, what do you say we go for a walk today?", "Skye! There you are! How are you feeling this morning?", "What are you up to today? Feel like hanging out?". He always seemed to be there, looking over her shoulder, making sure she wasn't in some kind of trouble. She'd joked with her mother yesterday that she was sure he must hide in the garden all morning, waiting for her to walk by. She knew he was just concerned about her. They'd all had a rough time, and she was grateful for his kindness, but there's only so much kindness a person can take! She'd slipped out of the colony as soon as her mother had left for her daily stroll down to the market. Perhaps today at least, she'd be rid of her babysitter!

Skye climbed the last little way and found herself staring up at the majestic Falls. If anyone found out where she'd been, she would be in for it, but boy, was it worth it. She stood for a moment, taking in a deep breath before making her way across the stream and towards the foot of the Falls.

Skye shivered and wrapped her jacket tighter around her. It was unseasonably warm for January, but up on the mountain, the wind still had a decent bite to it. Ah well, Skye thought. At least the cold would make the resident predators sluggish. Winter meant the dinosaurs slept a lot and hunted less, which made it that much safer for a disobedient civilian to wander about the wild terrain. Still had to be careful though. She paused as a few strange etchings in the rock face caught her eye. The neat, white lines .. the tiny details and ridiculously exact calculations .. the work of someone with a mind that obviously worked differently to most peoples' .. Skye shuddered again and turned away. It wasn't too long ago she'd thought these markings were fascinating and mysterious. Now she'd be happy if she never laid eyes on them again.

She resumed her journey along the rock face. She was close enough to the Falls now that she could hear nothing but the deafening torrent as it plunged into the cavern beyond her. The freezing spray had made her clothes damp, but somehow the icy water splashing onto her was comforting. Cold, yes - her teeth were beginning to chatter - but she felt as though the familiar environment was finally washing away the nasty gloom of the past month. She took another deep breath and let the wind ruffle her tangled hair before turning sharply and sliding into a small hollow in the surface of the cliff. A general observer, simply staring at the rock, would never guess the cavern was there. This made Skye all the more inclined to keep the knowledge of it to herself. She had discovered her small cave by accident one day when "scouting out the terrain" for vantage points and places to hide, should she be spotted by .. well, anyone. There was no shortage of potential enemies here. Sixers, ferocious reptiles, even - Heaven forbid - Commander Taylor, who happened to snoop around the Falls at times himself! She picked her way through the narrow crevice, and breathed a sigh of relief as it branched out into a small room.

As Skye's eyes adjusted to the dim light of the cave, she suddenly started back in horror. There was a dark shape on the floor in front of her. She stood perfectly still for a moment, and when the shape didn't move, began inching forward. The shadowy lump gradually took the shape of a human. Skye's foot knocked against something on the ground and her hand leapt instinctively to her side, her heart beating wildly. Alas, her sonic was nowhere to be found. She remembered now. It had been confiscated after the episode with her mother and she still hadn't gotten it back. She inwardly rebuked herself for being so stupid as to leave the colony without it, and began to retreat from the motionless figure - better to come back with some form of defence - when his head suddenly tossed to the side and he let out a dull groan, his facial features becoming faintly recognisable in the weak light. The horrible reality came upon her with such a sickening snap that she was temporarily frozen, unable to cry out; unable to run; helplessly stuck there as in a terrible nightmare, staring at him. This dark figure, this limp body on the cave floor at her feet .. was Lucas Taylor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Run! RUN! Skye's mind was screaming at her to move, yet her legs did nothing. She waited for him to leap up at any second and grab hold of her arms roughly. She waited for that horrible sneer to appear out of the dim shadows in front of her face. She prepared herself for the bullet, or the knife, or the sickening blow that would end her agonising terror .. but nothing came. All was silent and still. Gradually, her common sense returned. The memory of that final afternoon. She had shot him. He would be in no shape to attack anybody. It was a miracle he was still alive! How _had_ he survived this long .. ? She stared at him warily. Still no movement.

Skye glanced around and then bent to pick up the item that had almost given her a heart attack a moment before. It was a small battery-powered lamp - military issue. She examined it and frowned, still keeping a watchful eye on her unconscious companion. Normally, these lamps only had to be shaken for a minute or two in order to stir up enough power to shine brightly for a couple of days, yet the battery in this one was completely drained. How long had he been lying here in darkness?

She shook the lamp for a moment and turned it on. Suddenly, the cave was illuminated and she was able to see Lucas Taylor for the first time since she had shot him - killed him, so she had thought. She wasn't proud of the fact, but she refused to allow herself to feel guilty for it. She was a soldier. He had threatened her family. It was war. She had done what had to be done. But looking at him now, she almost wished it had been someone else that had pulled the trigger. Lucas was very pale and apart from that initial groan, he had lain very still and quiet. Judging by the stains on his clothes, he had lost far too much blood to be able to survive. Even though he had somehow held out this long, he would die. Probably sooner than later.

Examining the cave more closely, Skye noticed some abandoned food that had barely been touched, as well as the remains of an old medical kit. Evidently Lucas had tried to patch himself up. Well, he had failed. So what? He deserved to die. He had threatened her mother, he had half-destroyed their colony, he had gotten a whole lot of people killed, as well as murdering a good soldier himself and trying to kill his own father! Her eyes hardened and a lump entered her throat as she thought of Lieutenant Washington. Lucas deserved to die. He should be dead already. She would be doing the world a favour .. Anyway, if she had done the job right the first time, she wouldn't be in this situation now.

A hunting knife lay close to his hand. She picked it up and clutched it tightly. It had come to this.

No sooner had Skye stepped closer and raised the knife then the impulse was gone. She almost laughed at herself. What did she think she was gonna do - stab him in the heart? Unlike the monster presently in her power, she was not a killer. She dropped her arm to her side again, and stood for a moment. Now what?

She glanced outside through the crack in the cave wall. It had gotten darker while she had been assessing this situation. What time was it? She glanced at her watch. 1:45. Odd. A distressed voice suddenly interrupted her train of thought.

"No. No! Stop! Please! No, don't!"

She stared at Lucas as his pleas grew louder and more panicked.

"You can't! I'm sorry! Stop! I'm sorry."

As this last phrase ended, his voice dropped. His breathing quickened and he started shivering.

"Please .."

Skye glanced outside again. If a storm was coming like she suspected it was, she best get out and away quickly or be forced to spend the night there. She shivered herself at that. Not a pleasant thought.

"Bucket .."

Skye jumped and turned her attention back to Lucas, raising the hunting knife again. He was staring at her with feverish eyes. As the knife rose, he appeared to chuckle faintly and turned his head back to face the cave wall.

"You .. You killed me .."

Skye fled. She didn't care what happened to him. Let him lie there alone in a cave at the top of a mountain while a storm came over. He put himself there.

As she burst out into the open air once more, she felt the change in weather immediately. The temperature had dropped; the sky was grey and getting darker by the minute. Looks like their late winter had finally arrived. The cold wind seemed to pierce her entire body. She made her decision quickly. There was nothing to be done for it now. If she left Lucas here overnight, he would be dead before morning. She had to get down the mountain and warn Commander Taylor. Hopefully she could beat the oncoming snow.

As she charged recklessly across the rocks and down through the trees, she began to wonder if going to Taylor was such a good decision after all. He had barely spoken to her since the day their world was turned upside down. A comment here, an order there .. She had saved his life and helped him back to camp without a word of thanks. True, she had shot his son .. but Lucas was about to kill him! Surely he understood, but therein lay another unanswered question - did he believe Lucas was dead, or did he also have his doubts?

She glanced at the sky again and hurried on. Come to think of it, Taylor had barely spoken to anyone for weeks. Jim Shannon had been managing the colony. Commander Taylor had been shutting himself away and disappearing at odd hours. Maybe it was best if he didn't know about his son's apparent survival. After all, Lucas would probably still die. He may be dead already.

Skye breathed a sigh of relief as the blue boundary fence came into view. She'd made it back before the snowfall. As she neared, she caught sight of the gate. Although she had originally planned to come in the way she'd gone out, the sight made her pause. The gate was already open. Jim was saying something to the young man beside him and shaking his head. He looked worried. Skye switched directions and ran towards the gate just as he gave the order to lower it.

"Mr. Shannon!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

Jim Shannon turned in confusion at the sound of Skye's voice coming from outside the gate.

"Skye, what-"

As she tore up to him, his expression changed.

"Where's Josh?"

Skye gasped for breath and shook her head.

"I don't know. Look-"

"You don't know?!" Jim looked like he was about to race out the gate himself. Skye glanced at Mark Reynolds in exasperation. Mark stared back at her, looking almost as confused and concerned as Jim did. Skye turned back to Jim and continued.

"He wasn't with me! I went by myself, but .. Mr. Shannon, I found Lucas. He's up in a cave near Snakehead Falls. I-"

"Lucas .. Taylor?!"

"YES." Skye stared up at the clouds in frustration for a moment before changing tactics. "Where is Commander Taylor?"

Jim shot Mark a look and nodded his head toward the gate.

"Out there somewhere. He just left. Who knows where he's going or when he'll be back." Jim tried not to look agitated.

"So he's not here?"

"That would be correct."

They all glanced around at each other for a moment before coming to the same conclusion - "Maybe it's for the best."

"Look, Mr. Shannon, Lucas is in pretty bad shape, and if we don't get him and bring him back before the snow sets in, I don't think he'll survive for long."

Jim nodded.

"Understood. We need to move now. Reynolds, bring a Rover around. No wait, better make it a Rhino. Oh, and Mark .." He put a hand on the young soldier's shoulder as he turned to obey his orders. "Let's keep this between ourselves for the moment."

Mark nodded and disappeared around a corner. Jim turned back to Skye, who had suddenly become uncomfortably aware of the interrogation in store for her. She smiled at him, trying her best to look as guiltless as possible. Jim stared back at her, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows a little. Skye abandoned her futile attempt at innocence. He could see right through her.

The sound of a Rhino momentarily postponed the questions as Mark drove toward them, stopped the vehicle and jumped out. Jim took charge.

"Mark, in back. Skye, in front with me."

They quickly obeyed and seconds later, the three of them sped off toward Snakehead Falls.

"We better hurry." Mark commented, as the Terra Nova fence disappeared in their rear view. "Apparently Boylan's predicting a record snowstorm."

Jim snorted.

"Yeah, well, Boylan predicts a lot of things." He turned to Skye.

"So, where is this cave?"

She glanced at him before returning her uneasy eyes to the road.

"At the foot of the Falls. We'll have to stop the Rhino halfway up and walk the rest of the way."

Jim nodded. She knew there were a lot more questions where that came from, but evidently he felt they could wait. Mark glanced at the dark sky and frowned, but said nothing.

After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination and got out. As Jim turned to follow Skye up the mountain, something hidden in the trees several metres away and slightly below them caught his eye. His sharp gaze swept the area methodically - no sign of anyone. Commander Taylor was nowhere to be found. He appeared to have left his Rover here and trekked into the bush.

"Sir?" Reynolds hesitated. "Is everything alright?"

Jim came around to their side of the vehicle.

"Yep. I think we better move it, though. The weather's been kind to us up til now. No telling how long it'll hold out for." He gestured to Skye. "Lead the way."

As they neared the cave entrance, Mark startled them by shivering violently. Jim grinned at him.

"Cold, Reynolds?"

"N-No, Sir."

"Then you'd be the only one who isn't."

Skye stopped and gestured at the crevice in the rock wall with a little shiver of her own.

"He's in there."

Jim gave Skye a warning look as he prepared his pistol.

"Stay here."

He then exchanged a look with Mark.

"Ready? .. let's go."

Jim squeezed through the narrow entrance and into the small cavern, with Reynolds close behind. The room was still lit up brightly by the little lantern. After a quick glance around, their eyes came to rest on the pathetic figure on the floor.

"Is he dead?"

Mark's voice sounded almost as lifeless as Lucas looked.

"Very nearly. Cuff him, Reynolds - carefully."

Mark crept forward and nudged Lucas with his boot. No movement. He glanced sheepishly at Jim and proceeded to secure Lucas' wrists in the solid handcuffs, before looking up for his next orders. Jim returned his pistol to the holster.

"We better check his injuries."

He knelt down on Lucas' other side, opposite Mark. After the state of the injuries was assessed, Jim whistled softly under his breath.

"Right."

He looked around again and frowned. What would his wife do in this situation? He thought for a moment.

"We probably shouldn't move him in this condition .." He glanced at Reynolds for support and continued. ".. but in this situation, I don't see as we have much choice. I'll take his head and you take his feet. When I give you the okay, lift him up - gently."

Mark obeyed. Getting Lucas' limp body out of the cave took a bit of careful manoeuvring, and it was made worse by the fact that the waterfall spray on the rocks was beginning to turn to ice as the temperature continued its downward plummet.

Skye, hugging her jacket tightly around her in an attempt to warm herself, watched silently as she saw her unconscious enemy clearly for the first time. He looked so helpless. So incapable of harming anyone in his present state. Every now and then, she thought she caught a faint movement out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned her full attention back to him, he was just the same. She hated the sight of him, and yet she didn't trust herself to look away. Every part of her felt frozen from the inside out. As the other two attempted the perilous trip down, Skye followed as closely as she could without getting in the way. Surely this long, horrible day would be over soon ..

If Mark Reynolds hadn't had so much respect for his commanding officer, he may have been tempted to throw Lucas down the side of the mountain. As it was, they needed all of their concentration to keep their balance and avoid falling down the mountain themselves! They finally reached the Rhino and carefully piled their cargo in, just as the first snow began to fall.

"Right. Everyone in." Jim opened the passenger door for Skye as Mark climbed in the back with Lucas. "Hold him steady, Reynolds. It's not gonna be a fun ride down for him. Hopefully he can't feel anything at the moment."

Mark muttered something that sounded a lot like, "Serve him right if he can."

With one last uneasy glance at Taylor's abandoned Rover, Jim jumped into the driver's seat and began their careful descent.

Once the worst part was over, he glanced at Skye and raised his eyebrows.

"So .. I think it's time for an explanation, young lady. How did you come to find him? Why were you even out here alone in the first place?"

Skye gave him a pained smile and began her tale, wondering how many times she'd have to tell it before the day was out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jim Shannon smothered another snort of laughter.

"I'm serious!" Skye gave in and laughed with him. "He follows me everywhere!"

Jim grinned and shook his head.

"Have you told him to back off a bit?"

Skye looked startled.

"I can't say that to Josh. He'll take it the wrong way."

Jim thought that over for a moment before replying.

"You may be right. Well, it's up to you .." He trailed off.

Skye glanced at him, but he didn't seem inclined to add anything else. She turned to see how Mark was coping. He still had a firm grip on Lucas, but he was staring out the window and didn't notice her. Lucas' condition didn't appear to have changed at all. Every now and then, Skye would look back at him and notice he didn't seem to be breathing. Her heart would stop for a moment before he inhaled again, and she would breathe a sigh of relief along with him. Of course, he deserved to stop breathing altogether, but Lucas dying in the back of their Rhino with his upper body on Mark's lap was not ideal. Jim was driving more carefully in the light snow, but surely they must be nearly to Terra Nova now. She leaned back in her seat and waited.

It was just about dark by the time they reached the colony gates, and the snow had started falling in earnest. Jim pulled the Rhino up in front of the Infirmary and leaped out.

"Elisabeth!" Jim's call echoed through the quiet building. "Elisabeth!"

Doctor Elisabeth Shannon appeared almost immediately in the doorway.

"Jim?" She ran to her husband, who was evidently pulling a wounded soldier out of the vehicle, and her brow furrowed with the curiosity those in the medical profession are known to have their fair share of.

"What's happened?"

Deborah Tate was right behind Elisabeth. Over the past few weeks, they had become quite good friends. When Deborah had arrived home after her walk and Skye was nowhere to be found, her mother had assumed she was out with Josh. When another hour or so had passed and Skye still hadn't returned, Deborah went in search of Elisabeth. Upon hearing the news that Skye wasn't with Josh, they had both been concerned, and were halfway through their 3rd cups of tea when Jim's anxious voice had startled them both out of their anxious thoughts. She came out of the doorway now, and spied her exhausted daughter climbing out of the Rhino.

"Skye!"

Skye had barely walked two steps before she was enveloped in her mother's arms and ushered under the shelter of the Infirmary roof. She turned to see Elisabeth giving Jim a questioning look as the patient was unloaded and carried inside. Deborah's arm tightened around Skye when she recognised the unconscious man in Jim's grasp. Skye bit her lip and Elisabeth shot an incredulous glance at Deborah, but no one said anything. They filed inside in silence.

Once inside, the room seemed to erupt. Elisabeth was barking orders left and right, Lucas was placed on a bed and both he and Jim disappeared from view. Skye and Mark were ushered into a small room by Nurse Ogawa and Skye's mother, and made to sit down at a spotless table. Mark protested, saying he felt fine and needed to get back to his barracks, but Nurse Ogawa would have none of it. A few moments later, a warm drink was placed in front of him with the instructions that he may not leave until he had well and truly finished all of it! Skye also received a warm cup of .. something, but she didn't have the spirit to protest. Deborah sat beside Skye and watched her closely, but didn't press her. Whatever had happened, her daughter was now safe and evidently wasn't up to talking about it yet. She would content herself with making sure both young adults finished every drop of their drinks before taking Skye home to bed.

In one of the back rooms, however, Elisabeth was questioning Jim furiously in the midst of her "sewing Lucas Taylor back together again".

"But how did she find him?! - Jim, hand me that thread, would you - He must've been out there for weeks! It's impossible that he's still alive - now the forceps - He's extremely lucky - not these ones, the small ones - He's extremely lucky she discovered him when she did!"

Jim, trying to keep up with both trains of conversation, had barely a chance to say anything, and was shortly afterwards ushered out of the room so the medical staff could do their jobs. He wandered around in confusion for a moment, and somehow managed to find his way into the small room at the back, where his previous companions were thawing out.

He patted Skye's shoulder.

"How're you doing, kiddo?"

Skye smiled weakly at him and said nothing, but Deborah gave him a grateful smile. She appreciated Jim and Elisabeth's care for Skye while she had been incapable of caring for her daughter herself. She was glad someone had been looking out for her. She knew Commander Taylor was keeping an eye on Skye for a while, but ever since she had got back to the colony, the man annoyed her. He refused to talk to or forgive her daughter, even after she had saved his own life! Even when she had "betrayed" him, everything she did was to help someone else. Deborah could see the hurt on Skye's face every time Taylor refused to talk to her, or gave her short answers, or just flat out ignored her and pretended he hadn't heard a word. She inwardly fumed whenever she saw him, but on the outside, she simply smiled and said, "Give him time, Bucket. He's had quite a shock." She tried her best to be the calm and motherly figure she knew her daughter needed .. but Nathaniel Taylor was walking on very thin ice.

Jim had turned to Mark, who had just jumped up after downing the last of his drink.

"Ready to go, Reynolds?"

"Yes, sir. I can walk. The barracks aren't too far."

"Oh no, you won't. Not in this weather. My daughter would kill me."

Jim grinned at Mark as the young soldier grew a little redder.

"I .. thank you, sir."

"No need for thanks. Just get in the Rhino."

Jim winked at Skye and her mother before exiting the room with Reynolds.

A few moments later, Elisabeth walked in and sat opposite Deborah at the table. She took a deep breath and smiled at Skye.

"I'm glad to see you're alright, Skye. You gave us all quite a fright! Almost finished your drink? Good. The best thing for you right now would be to get tucked up tightly in bed."

Skye returned the smile.

"Is .." She hesitated. ".. he .."

Elisabeth came to her rescue.

"Lucas? He's had a rough time of it. He somehow managed to remove the bullets himself, but his wounds were badly infected. He has a really high fever and we've got him on drips to counteract the severe dehydration. It's too early to tell whether he'll pull through at this stage, I'm afraid, but it's thanks to you he has a chance at all."

Skye opened her mouth to ask another question, but Elisabeth anticipated her.

"And yes, he's very well handcuffed to the bed."

She glanced at Deborah with a knowing smile as Skye visibly relaxed a little. Deborah put her arm around Skye's shoulders.

"You're getting to be the colony's guardian angel, aren't you, Bucket? First you saved me, then Commander Taylor, and now Lucas as well- Oh, Skye."

Skye had gotten tears in her eyes during this little speech and was now staring down into her empty cup. Elisabeth took charge.

"Right. Up you hop. It's been a huge day for all of us. Go home and get some rest."

She patted Deb's arm and walked them to the entrance. The snow was still falling gently, and she was just looking around for someone to take the Tates home when Jim pulled up and walked through the front door.

"Oh! Jim!" Elisabeth smiled conspiratorially at him and he rolled his eyes and laughed.

".. what is it this time?"

"I was just thinking it would be so hard on Deborah and Skye to have to walk home in the snow. They've had such a long day, and .."

Jim raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. Get in the truck."

Deborah shook her head and smiled.

"You don't have to take us. We can-"

Jim cut her off mid-sentence with a grin and a shake of his own head.

"Don't mention it. I wouldn't have it any other way. But if you don't get in the Rhino soon, the Shannon Taxi Service is going to be OUT of service! Think I'll try a less demanding career .." He shot a mischievous glance at his wife. ".. like the medical profession!"

"Oh!" Elisabeth picked up a nearby magazine and smacked him with it. "Thank you very much! Don't expect me to patch you up next time you come in here bleeding!"

Jim laughed and raise his hands again.

"I take it back! I take it back!" He kissed his wife on the cheek and headed for the door. "Won't be long! Wait .. where are the kids?!"

"At home. Josh is watching them. They're FINE. GO."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Elisabeth laughed as Jim saluted her and ushered Skye and Deborah out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Lucas Taylor shifted in his hospital bed and groaned. Everything hurt. What- He tried to move his hands up to rub his eyes, but neither of them would move. Was he paralysed? He attempted to open his eyes. His head hurt. No. Ow. Close them again. He lay there for a few moments before renewing his efforts. This time, he managed to open them just enough to obtain a blurry view of the Infirmary roof. What. Why did his cave roof look like that? He blinked slowly and opened his eyes a little more. This wasn't his cave. Where was he? He turned his head slowly to the side. Curtains. Light blue curtains. Surely not .. He listened, and overheard the hurried rustling of someone's feet. A few stifled coughs later, his suspicions were confirmed. He was in Terra Nova, wasn't he? In the Infirmary. Of course he was. He knew it well enough to recognise it. But how had he got here? Who had brought him?! He tried to move his arms again - more forcefully this time, and briefly noticed the restraints around his wrists before collapsing back into his thin mattress. His entire chest was on fire. He forced himself to take laboured breaths, but every breath was agony. Ahhhhhhh! Lucas' mind screamed in pain, but he pressed his lips together and refused to let a sound out. A moment later, he closed his eyes and lay very still as the sound of footsteps approached. The nurse in charge of the night shift entered the small room and checked his vital signs on the electronic chart beside his bed before fiddling with his IV tubes. He hadn't even noticed them before, but a sudden jabbing sensation in his right arm left no doubt as to their existence. Lucas tried to get his mind back to the situation at hand. He had been lying in the cave after managing to remove the bullets so lovingly implanted in him. He remembered a little eating and a lot of disturbed sleep. The time stretched on forever until no time seemed to pass at all. He was cold and hot and cold. His chest hurt. He tried to fight the infection with the medical supplies he had on hand. They brought temporary relief, but nothing worked for long. He kept getting worse. The lantern had started to go out, but he couldn't summon enough energy to recharge it. Then muffled voices and .. nothing .. now suddenly, somehow he was back? In Terra Nova? HOW .. His mind spun as he returned to the present. Nothing made sense. As the nurse left the room, Lucas began feeling very drowsy. A few moments after the morphine started to kick in, he fell back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Skye got up very early that morning. It was still dark. Her mother wasn't awake yet. She glanced out the window. It would appear no one else in the entire colony was awake at this hour. As exhausted as she was, sleep seemed impossible. She had tossed and turned for a while before finally giving up and leaving her room. She paced around the shadowy house for a few minutes before returning to the window. The snow was still falling softly, and Terra Nova was blanketed in a sea of glittering white. She sat on the window seat and stared up at the massive moon. It all looked so peaceful. So quiet. Inwardly, Skye felt anything but peaceful and quiet. She stared over toward the Infirmary. Was he still alive? Was he conscious yet? Or had he slipped away overnight in the warmth and comfort of the Infirmary, never to account for his actions on this earth?

Deep in thought, she was startled when her stomach growled loudly. When was the last time she ate? She thought back to the previous day. It must've been late morning. No wonder she was starving!

Skye's mother opened her eyes a moment later as a dull thud reached her sleeping ears. She frowned and glanced at the clock. 3:58. Wrapping her dressing gown around her, she peered out of her room and into the kitchen. Skye was kneeling down with her head in the fridge. Her mother suppressed a laugh and walked closer.

"What are you doing?" She spoke softly, but Skye still jumped. A somewhat guilty face appeared from behind the fridge.

"I was hungry. I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry."

Deborah leaned against the counter.

"So I see. I heard a bump."

Skye picked up a round object and shoved it back into the fridge, looking back at her mother with a sheepish smile.

"Orange."

Deborah shook her head and laughed.

"Why don't you sit down while I make you some breakfast."

When Skye resisted, Deborah sat her down at the table and started pulling things out of the fridge. Skye frowned and shifted uncomfortably.

"You don't have to do that, Mom. I'll be fine. You go back to bed."

Deborah turned to her daughter with a thoughtful expression.

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. I'll make us breakfast if you sit and eat with me and-" at Skye's cry of protest, Deborah held up a finger and continued "-and tell me exactly what happened yesterday. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Deal?"

Skye's demeanour had changed a little upon hearing the last bit, but after a short pause, she assented.

"Deal."

* * *

When Lucas reawaken much later that morning, he felt a little less like a paralysed pincushion. He was able to open his eyes fairly quickly and recognised the blue curtain immediately. That's right. He was in Terra Nova. In the Infirmary. He had established this. Now what was wrong with him .. ? If only he could get a look at his chart .. He listened to make sure no one was coming and turned his head the other way .. just in time to lock eyes with Elisabeth Shannon. She raised her eyebrows and closed his chart.

"You're awake. Welcome home."

Lucas rolled his eyes upward to stare at the ceiling. Elisabeth took no notice.

"You've had a nasty time of it, as I'm sure you're well aware. We're keeping you here until you're well enough to be moved into the brig, where I'm sure you will live out the remainder of your days in excellent health, if not happiness. Any questions?"

Lucas lay in silence for a moment before attempting to ask a question. When he did try to talk, he found his mouth was uncomfortably dry and couldn't seem to get the words out properly. Frustrated, he gave up attempting to talk and pretended to go to sleep. Elisabeth went back to his chart. After a few minutes, she placed it down again and picked up an object from one of the side tables.

"Water?"

Lucas opened his eyes and nodded, looking bored. This was humiliating.

Elisabeth called for a nurse to assist her and together they helped Lucas sit up a little into a reclining position. His head spun so badly, he thought he might throw up, but the stickiness in his mouth stopped him. His chest hurt so badly that tears came into his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to utter a sound. Elisabeth held the water to his lips and he accepted it. Cool, smooth water. His throat was still a little sore, but his mouth felt better already. When the water was finished, he leaned against the bed, completely tired out, but still keeping an eye on Elisabeth.

"How did I get here?"

"Let's just say some kind soul stumbled upon you."

Lucas huffed a short laugh.

"That would explain why my chest hurts."

"No, that would be the shoddy job you did of patching yourself up." Elisabeth smiled briefly at him before turning to leave. "I'll be back in to check on you in a couple of hours. Get some rest."

Lucas watched her leave and decided he would get as little rest as possible. He stared at the ceiling, the curtain, the walls .. but after a few minutes, his body betrayed him and he found himself slipping away into a dream once again.

* * *

"How is she holding up?"

Deborah sat down at the table opposite Elisabeth and hesitated before answering.

"I think she's okay. We were up eating breakfast before dawn, and she told me everything."

Elisabeth nodded.

"Is she-"

"She's home with Josh as we speak. He came to check on her as soon as the markets opened this morning." Deborah raised an eyebrow at Elisabeth and continued. "They were halfway through the most heated game of chess I've personally ever seen when I left."

Both mothers laughed at the picture. Deborah lowered her voice a little and leaned forward.

"How's Lucas?"

Elisabeth sighed.

"I checked on him just before I left for my break. He was sleeping again. Proper sleep this time, though, not delirious dreams. At this stage, it's the best thing for him. He's stubborn and fairly tough. If he wants to, I think he'll make a full recovery."

Deborah nodded thoughtfully.

"Might've been better for him if he'd never been found. Has Commander Taylor been told yet?"

Elisabeth shook her head.

"He's .. out. Jim seems to think he won't be back for another week or so. Quite possibly a good thing, but he'll have to be told sometime."

"True .." Deborah smiled a little and took a sip of her coffee. "I can't say I'd want the job of telling him."

"No, neither would I, but I fear it may be dropped in my lap after all."

Elisabeth stared out at the melting snow. It had stopped snowing as soon as the sun came up, but a larger snowstorm was supposed to set in that night. For now, however, everyone was out and about, taking the opportunity to meet friends and enjoying the colony in all its wintery colours.

"What will happen to him, Elisabeth?" Deborah watched her friend with a touch of sadness in her eyes. Elisabeth shrugged.

"Be life in the brig, I suppose."

"Sad. He was such a smart boy."

Elisabeth checked her watch.

"Ooh, I better get back." She smiled and patted her friend's arm. "Can't save them all, Deb."

Deborah watched her race off with a snort of laughter.

"Doesn't stop you from trying!"

* * *

As the afternoon sun began to sink over the boundary fence, the snow returned. Securely indoors and happily protected from the icy flakes and chilling breeze, Jim Shannon added some milk to his coffee.

"How was your shift?"

Elisabeth smiled eagerly.

"Well .. uhh .. the Wilson boy's leg is almost ready for the cast to come off, and we didn't have any stomach bug cases all afternoon, which means that the colony may finally be developing an immunity to it!"

Elisabeth continued on and Jim listened to her, smiling. Half the time, he couldn't understand a word she said, but she got so excited telling him about her work that he sat there enthralled anyway.

".. and the new vaccines should be ready tomorrow! And Lucas Taylor is improving slowly, but surely."

Elisabeth paused as Jim's expression faltered slightly. He quickly covered it up and sipped his coffee, but Elisabeth was a keen observer.

"Jim .."

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Hmm?"

His wife scoffed and raised her eyebrows back at him.

"What is it?"

Jim saw that he wasn't going to get away without some sort of explanation, so he surrendered.

"It's just that .. you speak about Lucas like he's just another member of the colony. Like he's just as innocent as the rest of them! I heard you talking to him this morning when I dropped your lunch off. You sounded .. well, polite. Even friendly."

Elisabeth nodded in response.

"Well, he is my patient. I may not be glad that he's here, but I'm glad he's improving in my care, and - honestly, Jim," as he shook his head in disbelief "have you never heard of a bedside manner?"

Jim stared at her seriously.

"Elisabeth. You're a brilliant doctor, and I appreciate how dedicated you are to your job. I really do .. I just think what Lucas Taylor needs is a lot more consequences and a little less bedside manner .."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The freezing wind battered against Nathaniel Taylor's wrinkled face, but he simply ignored it. Truth be told, he could barely feel it. Ever since his son had been killed, he had walked around in a dreamlike state. He was numb, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to come back from it. He couldn't feel relieved that the imminent threat had passed, or happy that the colony was getting back on its feet. He wasn't mad at Skye anymore, or even sad about his own son's death! He was just .. there. He shifted uncomfortably on the hard, cold rock and continued staring into space. He had come out into the wilderness because he couldn't bear the comforting smiles of the Terra Novans anymore. He hated the fact that they insisted on trying to comfort him. Why did they think he needed comforting?! He wasn't even upset!

His eyes focused once more on the object of their choosing. The intricate calculations kept twisting in and out of view amongst the swirling snow. Almost like they were mocking him. Laughing at him. Just like his son used to. Probably still was. Taylor leaned back and stared at the hundreds of white specks falling down toward him - some on his beard, some in his eyes - his thick coat was already soaked. Still the specks kept coming. Straight toward him. Always toward him. Like they followed him. Why did everyone and everything keep following him?! Why couldn't they just leave him alone?! For goodness sake, he just wanted some peace and quiet for once in his life! Was that too much to ask?!

He got up and trudged back through the snow the way he had come, back to the small tent he had constructed several days ago. He sat there in his wet coat, still staring at those equations. He had positioned himself so that he could always see them. Military tactic - never let your enemy have better surveillance than you. He was determined to watch them just as much as they watched him. Taylor laughed to himself. Those blasted numbers and symbols wouldn't have the upper hand THIS time.

He leaped up as a crack came from his right. A young ankylosaurus appeared out of the whiteout. Taylor grinned maliciously. So this animal was watching him too, was it? Did they have spies everywhere?! He jumped out in front of the creature and screamed. The young dinosaur bleated in fright and fled back into the forest. Taylor threw a rather large knife at its retreating form, but missed, much to his disappointment.

"Agh, run away then, you COWARD!" He could've killed it six ways from Sunday if he wanted to. He set out to retrieve his knife, but soon gave it up as lost in the build-up of white powder. Returning to his shelter, he threw off his coat and growled. First his son and the calculations, then the dinosaurs. Everyone and everything was hunting him. Everything was out to destroy him. He glared at a familiar snow-covered rock that lay several metres away. He knew that rock. That was where Mira, the leader of the Sixers, had ambushed him a couple of months ago. He looked around furiously. Where was she hiding?! She was probably headed back to try and take control of Terra Nova again - HIS COLONY. Well, he wouldn't let her. He was sworn to protect Terra Nova at any cost, even if it meant he had to destroy his own son. Fortunately for him, Skye had already taken care of that problem. SKYE had taken care of it. SKYE had done his job for him. He should've killed Mira when he had the chance. The colony may never have been attacked. Wash may still be alive. It was his fault. It was his job to protect the colony from any threat, and he had failed. Well, never again. He would defend it to his last breath. He would eliminate any potential threat without conscience or hesitation. He would hunt down any rebel and erase them. He finally realised what it meant to be the defender, the protector, the leader. He clenched his jaw stubbornly to keep his teeth from chattering. He would not make the same mistake again. Eh, what did it matter anyway? His thoughts rapidly changed direction. If the colonists couldn't take care of themselves, were they even worth defending? They were so helpless. He knew if it came down to it, HE could defend himself. HE could survive. He was a survivor. Those people? .. pathetic .. which was exactly why they needed him to protect them. He was stronger. He was tougher. He was their leader. No - he switched direction again - it was his duty to look after them and that was that. A soldier always carried out his duty.

The snow was getting heavier and the already dim light was beginning to fade. Taylor could barely see the rock wall on the other side of the river. He had a feeling that soon, he wouldn't be able to see his hand in front of his face. He needed real shelter, and fast. Gathering up the few belongings he had brought with him, he headed across the creek and toward the cliff. There were a few nice overhangs he knew of that might block out some of the chill. Reaching the security of the cliff, Taylor moved along the rock carefully. Now he could barely see a thing! When had it got this bad?! He had paused and was looking around in dismay when something just ahead of him stopped him in his train of thought. Was it .. ? It was! A light! Coming out of the rock! He headed toward it eagerly. Where was it coming from?

He followed the steady stream of light until it lead to a crack in the cliff face. Taylor climbed into the crack and continued on. The light was growing brighter now. Just ahead, he could see a wider area. Was somebody here? He stumbled into the little room and gazed around in confusion. There was nobody here. But how .. He picked up the small lantern that had led him in. Military issue. These lanterns lasted less than a week on a full battery. Someone HAD been here recently. That much was certain. But who? He walked around the small cavern curiously. Old and used-up medical supplies. Blood on the floor. Someone had been hurt. He caught sight of a couple of dirty bullets in the corner of the room, and suddenly leaned against the cave wall in disbelief. Lucas .. his son .. it had to be. His dead son wasn't dead after all. Skye had failed. But - he scowled at the small lantern in his hand - if he wasn't here ..

Taylor exclaimed loudly in anger.

"Terra Nova!"

Lucas was headed to Terra Nova, and the Commander of the colony wasn't even around to protect it! Taylor rushed out of the cave and was immediately plunged into a dizzying world of nothingness. He retreated into the cavern and smacked the cave wall furiously. He could do NOTHING until this blasted snow let up. He was useless, trapped. He smacked the wall again and yelled. Terra Nova was under attack again .. and he wasn't there. Well, as soon as he could get out of this stinking hole, he would return home at once - his expression darkened - and do what needed to be done - what _should've_ been done a long time ago. It was his responsibility, both as the father of the enemy and the commander of the colony.

Skye had failed. He would not.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Over the next couple of days, Lucas got better as the weather got worse. School was cancelled. The Infirmary was next to empty, aside from a couple of live-in patients. Elisabeth wandered around the deserted building. Her shift had been over last night. Talk about overtime! But none of the other medical staff could get in until the snow let up, so Elisabeth and Nurse Ogawa had decided to stay themselves and send everyone else home. She glanced over at a cot in the corner of the room where Nurse Ogawa was napping. The poor woman worked too hard. She gave herself completely to every patient, every case. Elisabeth smiled and shook her head, not realising she was basically describing herself at the same time. Nurse Ogawa had been the only nurse that hadn't refused to have anything to do with Lucas Taylor. All of the other medical staff flat out refused to go near him "as a matter of principle." Elisabeth sighed. He may be the embodiment of evil and a criminal mastermind, but he was still human, not to mention a patient. _Her_ patient. And as such, he must be treated to the best of her ability.

She parted the curtain and stepped into his room. Lucas was lying still, staring at the ceiling, as had become his usual pastime. He was listening to the howling wind outside and the snow falling on the roof and didn't appear to take any notice of Elisabeth. She watched him thoughtfully. Thanks to the necessary restraints, he still wasn't able to use his hands. He had refused to be spoon fed "like an infant", so they had been feeding him through yet another drip. She smiled in spite of herself. How could the leader of the deadly army that had destroyed everything in its path be such a baby? His wounds were healing up nicely - she had stitched them, but thanks to his own efforts, there would still be a couple of nasty scars. The infection was clearing up, and though he was still very weak, his temperature was back to normal. Perhaps it was time to move him to a cot in the brig, where he would be free to move around a little and build up his strength once more. She shook her head and smiled wryly again. Perhaps he could even feed himself.

Elisabeth picked up a Plex and walked to the window. Still dark. Still snowing. She read the time on the tablet - 11:00 am. Pulling up a chair near Lucas' bed, she sat down and began reading an article from a medical journal. After a few moments, her eyes wandered back to Lucas, whose gaze had shifted to stare out the window. Elisabeth's gaze followed her patient's. What was the rest of her family doing at this moment?

* * *

"Canasta!"

Jim Shannon threw his cards down on the coffee table in mock frustration.

"Again?! How did you win again?!"

His two daughters laughed at him mercilessly and grinned at each other. Jim shook his head and lowered his eyebrows.

"I hope you two realise that the only - and I mean the ONLY - reason you two keep winning is because you're technically cheating."

The girls cried in outrage.

"Daddy! We are not!"

"How?!"

Jim put his hands up.

"Hey, one of us is at a disadvantage because he doesn't have a partner. That's all I'm sayin'."

Maddy scoffed, but his younger daughter Zoe stood up and came around to lean on her father's shoulder.

"I'll be your partner, Daddy."

"But you're supposed to be mine!" Maddy stared at her little sister disapprovingly, looking vaguely offended. Zoe was unmoved. Jim laughed at his eldest daughter's expense.

"NOW we're talking. Set us back up, Pumpkin."

Maddy begrudgingly started shuffling cards as her brother walked into the room. She immediately brightened.

"Josh-"

"Nope."

Josh collapsed onto the sofa and lay there, while Maddy scowled at him. Jim turned to his only son.

"Come on, Josh .. help your sister out." He lowered his voice. "I mean, we both know without your help, she doesn't have a _chance_ at winning .."

"Hey!"

Josh smiled a little at this, but remained stretched out on the sofa. Jim shrugged and rubbed his hands together.

"Very well. Let the games begin!"

After a few moments, Josh let out a huge sigh.

"Why won't this snow stop?! There's nothing to do. I'm so bored!"

Jim rolled his eyes comically at his daughters before answering his whining son.

"Well, there always canasta."

Josh groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. The game continued. A few minutes later, the room erupted again.

"That was so not fair!"

"Aha, sometimes you just gotta work with the cards you're dealt, sweetie." Jim turned to nod wisely at Zoe. "Also a good tip for life."

Maddy glared at her father for a moment before giving in and laughing with them. As she collected the deck, her face gradually turned serious.

"Dad .."

".. yes .. ?" Jim looked suspiciously at Maddy as she put the cards down.

"Is it true that Lucas Taylor is in the Infirmary?"

Josh shot up, immediately engaged in the conversation once more.

"What?!"

Jim took a deep breath.

"Where did you hear that?"

Maddy shrugged and smiled slyly.

"I have my sources."

Jim narrowed his eyes before realisation dawned on him.

"Ah. Reynolds."

Maddy looked surprised.

"Mark knows?"

Jim fell silent and heard a slow clap from behind him.

"Good job, Dad."

Maddy wasn't about to let the matter go now.

"Does that mean it's true?! Why does Mark know?! How did he get here?! I thought he was shot!"

"Alright, alright. One question at a time. I'll tell you .. on one condition."

Maddy nodded eagerly. Jim pointed a finger at her.

"This stays out of the school newspaper, got it? Not a word."

"Absolutely. I won't tell a soul."

He put his arm around his youngest daughter.

"Zoe?"

Zoe shook her head.

"Me neither, Daddy."

He looked around at Josh, who held up his hands, tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, implying his secrecy. That was all the assurance he was going to get from Josh, but beneath the occasional sarcasm and bad judgement, Jim believed his son was trustworthy. He'd learned a lot since leaving 2149 behind. Besides, there was no harm in telling his children the truth, considering rumours would soon be spreading around Terra Nova like wildfire.

"Well, the other day, as Mark and I were sending Commander Taylor off at the gate, we heard a yell, so we turned around and saw Skye, outside the boundary fence and running towards us."

"Skye?!" Josh interrupted in surprise. "What was she doing outside?!"

Jim smiled quietly to himself, but simply replied with:

"That is a very good question, Josh." He turned to look seriously at his son. "Now, remember, you talk to no one about this. Not even Skye. Understand?"

Josh was beginning to look confused and a little agitated, but he nodded. Jim continued.

"She told us she'd found Lucas somehow and he was badly injured-"

"She found Lucas?! Skye?!"

Maddy and Zoe both shushed their brother and Jim shook his head.

"Yes, now do you want to hear the rest of this or .. good." as Josh zipped his lips. "Yes, it would appear Skye had found Lucas in her travels. Mark" with a nod to Maddy "and I went with her to pick him up. We took him back to the Infirmary, your mother patched him up, and presumably, he is still there now."

Maddy opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again and waited, watching her father. Jim gestured his permission with an amused smile.

"You may speak now."

Maddy needed no further encouragement.

"But how is he still alive?! Everyone was saying Skye SHOT him. We thought-" she hurriedly corrected herself "I thought he crawled away to die."

Jim noticed the awkward amendment, but decided to let it go.

"I think we probably all did. Turns out he's harder to get rid of than the average person."

They all sat in thoughtful silence for a minute or two. Josh was busy putting together the pieces in his mind. That was why Skye had disappeared the other day. That explained why she had been subdued recently. She was so distracted, he had beat her at chess .. He laughed ironically at himself. He should've seen the signs. He never beat her at chess.

Jim shook his little daughter gently.

"You alright there, Zo?"

Zoe nodded slowly, then looked up at her father.

"Are you okay, Daddy?"

Jim laughed and kissed her head.

"I'm fine, sweetheart, but thank you."

* * *

Elisabeth walked into Lucas' room with a tray of food.

"You must be hungry. Are you ready to eat properly yet?"

Lucas rolled his head away from her and remained silent. Elisabeth put the tray on the bedside table and sat down in a chair.

"You know, you remind me of Josh when he was little. He used to refuse to eat his muesli-"

"Spare me."

Elisabeth smiled to herself. At least she was getting a response. She continued.

"So we tried to cook it different ways. Being the 2130s, we didn't have much variety of food, so he had to learn to eat what he was given."

A loud sigh from Lucas spurred Elisabeth on.

"Nothing worked! We tried everything! Finally, one morning, we came out and found him eating a bowl of muesli from the cupboard."

"How LONG is this story?!" Lucas finally looked at her. Elisabeth smiled back at him.

"The point of the story is that regardless of how stubborn he was or how much he wanted his own way, Josh had to learn to accept what he was given, or spend his days unhappy."

Lucas watched as she picked up the tray again.

"Do you want to try eating? I hear the fried xiph is rather delicious."

The resulting laugh from her patient sounded tense and frustrated.

"You think that's all it takes to make someone give in to you? A life lesson and a childhood story .." He shook his head. "I'll say one thing for you, Doc. You are amusing."

Elisabeth put the tray down as Lucas returned his gaze to the ceiling. He looked completely worn out. She suppressed a sigh as he tensed his sore arm muscles and spoke with a quiet tone of finality.

"Drip me."

When Elisabeth checked on Lucas that night just before she finished her shift, he appeared to be sleeping at first. On closer observation, she saw that his lips were moving. She raised her eyebrows.

"Planning your dramatic escape?"

His lips stopped moving shortly before he opened his eyes.

"Nope. Trying to figure out how the heater works."

She frowned at him, looking vaguely confused for a moment before turning to check his IV tubes, wondering if she had imagined that hint of a smile on his face.

"How are you feeling? Any nausea? Strange pains?"

Lucas sighed.

"My arms are sore. Any chance we could lose the restraints?" He watched Elisabeth closely. She turned to him with a solemn expression.

"Ah, no chance of that, I'm afraid. They may not seem like it, but they're promoting the healing process."

Lucas narrowed his eyes a little as she checked his chart. He had gotten the distinct impression he was being made fun of. Elisabeth had gone to the window. She turned back to him with a satisfied smile.

"Well, what do you know .. It's finally stopped snowing."

".. and?"

"And .." Elisabeth took off one coat and put on another. ".. that means I can go home. Nurse Ogawa will be in to refill your digestive system soon, and I will be in to check on you in the morning."

She moved to leave the room when Lucas spoke up.

"Doctor Shannon .. my arms really do hurt. I thought the point was for me to get stronger, not for my arms to become unusable."

"Well, that would make security's job a lot easier, wouldn't it?" Elisabeth smiled and leaned on the end of his bed. "If the weather holds out, we can move you to the brig tomorrow. You can move about a bit and feed yourself for a change. How's that?"

Lucas scoffed.

"Great. I'll be exchanging one prison for another."

Elisabeth shrugged.

"Really, Lucas, I'm not sure what you expected." She headed for the doorway once again. "Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

With a quick "Goodnight", Elisabeth was gone, and Lucas was left without even the sound of falling snow to keep him company.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next morning, the sky was clear, but the snow was still banked up, which made getting around an interesting challenge. Maddy and Zoe were sent off to school with Jim while Elisabeth set off back to the Infirmary - this time, with Josh beside her. His job at Boylan's kept him busy the majority of the time, but today the bar was still closed due to the entrance being blocked by a couple of rather large snow banks. (There was a rumour going around that Boylan was trapped in there himself, but no one had been able to confirm or deny it at the current time.) Seeing as Josh was "so bored" and didn't appear to have anything better to do, Elisabeth had suggested he tag along with her. The blizzard had caused a delay in the Infirmary schedule, and Josh could help with a multitude of small jobs. He may even get a bit of pocket money out of it. Josh was happy enough with the arrangement. He had watched his mother clean up his father's various job-related injuries more times than he could count, and had recently developed an interest in the medical side of things. At first, his questions had startled his mother and shocked his siblings - who would've thought Josh, of all people, would become interested in things like diseases and treatments?! Maddy was always the one they had assumed would follow in her mother's footsteps, but Josh?! Even more shocking was the fact that he seemed to be retaining the information. Elisabeth was eager to encourage her son's budding enthusiasm for the medical profession and had decided this was the perfect opportunity for him to see how the Infirmary worked behind the scenes.

The result of this, of course, was that Elisabeth and Josh arrived at the Infirmary together that morning, and Josh was immediately put to work emptying all the bins. Not the most glamorous job, but he wasn't particularly concerned, as he was used to doing the dirty jobs at the Bar more often than not. He worked quickly and before long, was almost finished. One room left ..

Lucas stared in mild surprise as Josh Shannon pushed aside the curtain and entered his little enclosure. Josh, realising whose room he had just walked into, mirrored Lucas' surprise for a moment before clamping his jaw and attempting to get on with his task. Lucas, however, had other ideas.

"Well, well. If it isn't Josh Shannon. How's life been treating you? .. You look terrible."

Josh gritted his teeth and attempted to ignore the baiting. Unfortunately for Josh's noble intentions, Lucas wasn't about to give up. In fact, he was rather enjoying himself.

"Your mother told me the muesli story the other day." He paused, grinning and carefully studying Josh's face before continuing. "It was very entertaining. Riveting, even. No, really. I was on the edge of my seat .. metaphorically, of course." He rattled his restraints a little to make the point.

Josh made himself take a deep breath. He had no idea what the murderous lunatic was talking about, but just the sound of his voice was enough to drive anyone to mindless violence. He took another deep breath. Just had to replace the bag now. Just a few more seconds ..

"I really am sorry about your friend, you know, but it is war. What can you do? You win some, you lose some-"

"Shut. UP." Josh's voice sounded satisfyingly strained. Lucas wriggled his toes in glee. He really had struck a nerve. The boy beside him was on the verge of cracking.

"I wish I could've known her - at least, I assume it was a 'her'. I'm sure she was a lovely person."

Josh's head was burning with an admirable attempt to conceal his rage. He threw the bin back into the corner at the soonest possible second and hurriedly exited the room. Storming angrily outside, he threw the used bag in the garbage and let out a yell of helpless fury as he violently kicked a snow clump. Lucas was the reason Kara was dead, and he didn't even care. He hated him! HE HATED HIM. Wrapping his arms around himself in a double attempt to warm himself and hug the pain away, Josh leaned against the wall. A few moments later, the concerned face of his mother appeared beside him.

"Josh? What's wrong?"

Josh slammed his fist into the wall and closed his eyes tightly.

"I hate him."

Elisabeth's heart ached as she heard the building grief in her son's cryptic reply.

"Oh, Josh .."

He allowed her to put her arms around him and hug him tightly as the tears began to escape.

* * *

"I told you it would be closed! No school!"

Zoe trotted happily beside her father as they entered the Infirmary.

"Well, you were right .."

Jim looked around the room, hoping to goodness that his wife wasn't too busy. He spotted her walking in through the other door with Josh close behind. She turned to say something to Josh, who nodded and disappeared out the door again.

"Mommy!"

Elisabeth turned back around in surprise as Zoe ran to her and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. Jim wasn't far away. She looked to him for an explanation.

"The school was shut. Something about a broken heater. It would seem children's brains need to be kept at a certain temperature in order to work properly! Huh, who would've thought."

Zoe gave her father a reproachful smile.

"Daddy .."

Jim grinned at her and looked back at Elisabeth with a slightly guilty expression.

"The thing is, since Taylor is still nowhere to be found, I'm in charge of a whole bunch of things at once. Would it be possible .. ?"

Elisabeth looked distressed.

"Look around, Jim. It's chaos in here! I really don't have the time to be watching her, and Josh has his own jobs to finish. Where's Maddy?"

"Lab. Since the school was shut, the older ones decided to do their work experience today. I really don't think it would be fair to ask her to watch her sister as well."

"I agree, but then what-"

"I can stay here, Mommy. I won't be in the way." Zoe smiled eagerly up at her mother. Jim took the opportunity to add in his own reasoning.

"She'll be well-behaved, won't you, Pumpkin? She can sit in the corner and play quietly with her toys."

Zoe nodded her approval of this plan, and though Elisabeth hesitated, in the end, there seemed little help for it. Jim rushed off to the Command Centre and with a last glance at her small daughter playing happily in the corner, Elisabeth hurried off to resume her own duties.

* * *

Lucas opened his eyes at the sound of light footsteps beside him. Had Josh come back? He turned his head to see a little girl watching him in intense silence. Well, this was unexpected. He frowned at her.

"Who are you?"

"Zoe." The child blinked at him.

"Zoe .."

"Shannon."

"Shannon." Lucas stared at her for a moment, then leaned back and laughed half-heartedly at the ceiling. "Of course!"

Zoe wasn't put off.

"My friend Leah says you're the bad man."

"Does she?"

"Yes."

Lucas shrugged indifferently.

"Well, maybe I am."

"Did you kill Lieutenant Washington?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lucas studied her for a moment before returning his gaze to the ceiling. Because she forced him. Because he couldn't lose face and appear weak in front of his men. Because she was the enemy's best fighter and caused him considerable problems. Because she was his father's best friend and killing her would cause him more pain. Because ..

"Because I felt like it."

Zoe gasped in horror, causing Lucas to glance at her before hurriedly looking away. Ordinarily, the intermingled look of fear and disgust on Zoe's face would've been amusing, but for some reason, Lucas didn't feel like laughing. He avoided her gaze, expecting her to run crying out of the room at any moment.

Silence.

After a minute or two, he looked back at her. Still there. Still staring at him unflinchingly with those big eyes.

"Why are you so mean?"

Unbelievable. This must be the only kid in the colony that wasn't afraid of him. Just his luck. Lucas sighed.

"Ask my father."

"Commander Taylor?"

"That's right."

"Commander Taylor's nice. He's a good man."

Lucas shook his head with a disdainful snort of laughter.

"No. He isn't."

"Yes he is."

"No he isn't."

"Yes he is!"

"No he-" Lucas stopped abruptly. Why was he arguing with a 7-year-old? He summoned all of his courage and looked threateningly into Zoe's eyes.

"Why don't you run along now, kid?"

Zoe didn't move. Secretly, Lucas was glad of it. Lying in the Infirmary all day with nothing to do and no one to talk to was boring. This strange conversation was somewhat entertaining at least.

"Are you going to run away?"

"Run away where?"

"To the Sixers."

"Probably."

Zoe thought about this for a few seconds before replying.

"Daddy and Mark wouldn't let you. They'd catch you."

Lucas snorted again at this confident assertion.

"Probably."

"Then why would you try?"

"Well, I can't stay here."

"Why not?"

Why not .. Lucas appeared to be closely studying the walls of his small prison. Finally, he turned back to Zoe.

"Because everyone here hates me."

"That's true."

This immediate response was so unexpectedly honest that Lucas burst out laughing for a moment before pressing himself back into his pillow and gasping in pain. Zoe watched him, looking mildly concerned. Just as Lucas was recovering his dignity, Elisabeth Shannon pushed the blue curtain aside and came cautiously into the room.

"I thought I heard a noise. Is everything - Zoe!" as she noticed her youngest daughter "What do you think you're doing?!"

Zoe smiled shyly at her mother, but made no attempt at a reply.

"Come on, Zoe. I think we need to have a little chat."

The smile disappeared.

"Someone's in trouble .." Lucas muttered softly.

Zoe glanced at him before turning back to her mother.

"Zoe. Come. Now!" Elisabeth held out an arm and her daughter hesitantly came closer. After exchanging a last helpless glance with the invalid criminal in the bed, Zoe was escorted out of the room.

* * *

"Am I in trouble?" Zoe's lip was beginning to tremble. She rarely saw that look on her mother's face. Elisabeth knelt down in front of her daughter. She had taken her to a quiet back room so they could have their little chat in peace.

"Why do you think you would be in trouble, Zoe?"

"Because I didn't stay where you wanted me to."

"And .. ?"

"And went in Lucas' room."

"That's right. We take care of a lot of people here, Zoe. Some of them are dangerous people. I don't want you wandering around and talking to them. Understand?"

Zoe looked at the floor and nodded quietly. Elisabeth put her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Why did you want to talk to Lucas anyway, sweetie?"

"I don't know." Zoe looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes. "Why did he hurt all those people? He said it was because he wanted to."

Elisabeth swallowed an angry lump in her throat before drawing Zoe to her and hugging her tightly.

"Some people like hurting other people. That's why your Daddy and I try our best to keep you out of danger and away from those people. We give you rules to help keep you safe."

"I know, Mommy." Poor Zoe buried her head in her mother's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

A few minutes later - once Zoe was settled and playing happily in her corner again, Elisabeth marched furiously into Lucas' room.

"You." She leaned on the end of his bed, glaring at him threateningly. "Stay away from my children. You should never have even been speaking to Zoe in the FIRST place."

"What did you expect me to do, take her by the hand and lead her out the door?" Lucas rattled his cuffs deliberately and fixed her with a dull stare.

Elisabeth smiled dangerously and narrowed her eyes at him before turning sharply on her heel and striding determinedly out the door.

"I need my husband and a couple of soldiers here as soon as possible. Lucas Taylor is moving to the brig. Now."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Jim, Reilly, and Mark Reynolds met Elisabeth at the Infirmary door.

"Brig time?"

Elisabeth nodded at her husband. They had discussed this subject last night after they had gone to bed. Jim was more than happy for Lucas to be thrown in the brig, providing his wife thought he could survive it. In his opinion, the Infirmary just didn't have the security to house a rapidly recovering psychopath. Whether Lucas was comfortable in the brig was of little concern to him. That was the safest place for him. Therefore, that was where he went. He turned to Reilly.

"Sergeant Reilly, are you ready to escort the prisoner?"

Reilly nodded respectfully.

"Yes, sir."

After her heroic actions in the recent crisis, Corporal Reilly had been promoted to Sergeant Reilly. Jim had begun training her up to fill the gap left behind by Lieutenant Washington. No one could ever really replace Wash. She had had many years of combat experience behind her and was the best in her field below Commander Taylor, but her death had left a huge gap in Terra Nova's security - a gap that must be filled as soon as possible. Jim felt he had made an excellent choice in Reilly. The young woman was learning quickly and seemed up for any task or challenge. It took a lot to rattle her and she had proved herself able to make intelligent decisions in the heat of the moment. She stood watching her senior officer calmly now, waiting for his direction. Jim gestured with his head and strolled inside.

"Then let's go!"

A respectful path cleared ahead of them as they followed Elisabeth into the room at the end of the building. Lucas watched in silence as Elisabeth double-checked his chart and his wounds, and made no attempt at a reply when she proclaimed him well enough for travel. He wasn't grateful to her for saving his life. Truth be told, he didn't want to be saved. He had to find a way to escape this place before they got him into the brig, where his chances of escape would become significantly slimmer. He was feeling stronger already. Maybe he could make a run for it. The boundary fence wasn't far away.

Elisabeth was rushed out just then to see to another patient. Jim took over.

"Right. Reilly, uncuff him from the bed. Reynolds, we'll probably have to support him to get him to the brig. Elisabeth doesn't think he'll be strong enough to walk by himself just yet."

Lucas continued to sit in silence. They were talking about him like he wasn't there. Making arrangements for him, while completely ignoring him. No one even looked at him! Despite his annoyance, he sighed in relief when the cuffs came off. He bent his weak arms slowly. They ached badly, but at least he could finally move them. Jim spoke to him at last.

"Back on, I'm afraid. Can't have you testing out your newfound health on one of your kind-hearted crutches now, can we?"

The restraints were snapped back on and secured just as quickly as they had come off. Reilly refused to look Lucas in the eye, but he could feel her carefully concealed anger bubbling away under the surface. It was betrayed in the rough way she gripped his wrist. Mark was "helping" him down from his Infirmary bed now - more like dragging him. He was running out of time. As he prepared to put some weight onto his legs, Lucas noticed an opening in the group of people around him. No one was holding on to him tightly yet - this may well be his only chance. With a sudden rush of strength, Lucas shoved Mark out of the way and made a run for the exit.

The next moment, he was staring at a couple of wooden boards a few inches away from his face .. the floor. His head was spinning madly. What had happened?! Had someone tackled him? He rolled over with a groan and became painfully aware of a small circle of faces staring down at him - some with stern disapproval and some attempting to conceal a wild desire to laugh in his face. Jim raised his eyebrows at Lucas.

"Are we good now?"

Lucas burned with humiliation and tried to stand up, but the pain in his chest made him nauseous and his legs refused to work. Jim took pity on the pathetic creature at his feet and pulled him up. He had to hold Lucas' arm firmly to keep him upright. Lucas was swaying unsteadily and had gone very pale. Mark returned to Lucas' other side and took hold of him. With a last nod to Elisabeth, they escorted their seedy prisoner unceremoniously out the front door.

As they drew closer to the Command Centre, Jim began to feel uneasy. He had gotten the distinct impression he was being watched; not just watched - closely observed. He cast a quick sweeping glance around the colony and then the boundary fence. There was a few people milling around the markets at that time of morning, and the majority of them had turned to stare at the unusual scene, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was the stare of the market people he had felt?

"Where to now, sir?"

Jim turned to Mark. He wasn't quite reassured, but at this present moment, there was very little he could do about it.

"Straight to the brig, Reynolds. We'll take care of the details once he's in there."

* * *

The dark figure kneeling in the snow behind the fence growled to himself as he watched the soldiers take their prisoner across to the Command Centre. It had taken a ridiculously long time for the snow to let up enough for him to make his escape from the cave. After finally escaping his freezing dungeon, he had headed straight for Terra Nova. Now it appeared he had good reason to hurry. He was right. His son was here, but he had changed tactics and surrendered himself by the look of things. Taylor gripped the thick fence tightly with his hand. And the gullible people of the colony had fallen for his schemes once again. He should've known. At any moment, Lucas might jump up and kill everyone, but he appeared to be playing the long game. Coming as a patient, inspiring sympathy, waiting for the opportune moment to strike out. Nathaniel didn't stop to consider how many times he had used this tactic himself. He smiled to himself as he watched Jim pause and look around, suddenly alert. The man had always had good instincts.

As Jim turned back to give a word of direction to his helpers, Nathaniel brushed his fingers gently over his side where the scar had formed. Being a soldier, he had plenty of scars, but though it had just about healed now - thanks to Terra Nova's state of the art medical technology - this one would always be the most painful. This scar told a grim story. This scar was the symbol of the day any bond between the long-suffering father and his rebellious son had been severed. Forever. The son he had known had died long ago. Nathaniel's only regret was that it had taken him so long to realise and accept it. The final day of occupation was also the day of revelation. That was the day this Lucas had sealed his fate. He had dug his own grave, and the grave would be his only reward.

Filled with cold resolve, Taylor slipped away into the shadows as his son disappeared into the brig.

* * *

"Comfortable? Good."

Jim continued without bothering to wait for a reply. Lucas had been tossed onto a cot in the corner of the brig at the soonest possible moment, and was left there to contemplate his surroundings. It wasn't so long ago he had been questioning Jim in this same room - his favourite kind of questioning, the cattle prod kind. He sighed inwardly as he looked around the dingy cell. How the tables had turned .. Never mind. He would soon turn them back.

Jim was studying Lucas thoughtfully, as if reliving the same memory. Lucas looked up and they locked eyes for a moment before he finally voiced the question that had been plaguing him since his most recent arrival in Terra Nova.

"Where is my father? I assume he's not here," Lucas gestured to the room in general with a sardonic smile. "or else I would've seen him. He wouldn't miss an opportunity to come and gloat."

Jim shook his head.

"I've told you before, Lucas. You've got your father all wrong."

"DON'T." Lucas snarled. "Don't play games with me. Is he here or isn't he?"

"He's gone away for a few days, but he'll be back soon." Jim headed for the door. "I suggest you start working up a very good apology."

He ushered Mark and Reilly out of the room before hesitating at the door.

"Enjoy your accommodations. If you're lucky, maybe next time I come to see you, I won't bring the cattle prod." He threw an expressionless look over his shoulder at Lucas before disappearing into the dark corridor.

The heavy door swung on its hinges and creaked as it was shut. Lucas jumped as the sharp clap of the magnetic bolts echoed throughout the brig.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

"I assume by now you've all heard that Lucas Taylor has been found and brought back to Terra Nova. Up until today, he was under careful observation in the Infirmary, and has recently been moved to the brig, where he will continue to take up residence until fully recovered."

Jim looked around the little circle. He had thought it was time to bring the unofficial colony council up to date on recent events.

"News travels fast around here, mate. It's-" Whatever Tom Boylan was about to say next was cut short by an incredulous cry on his left.

"What?! Lucas Taylor .. is back?! Here?! I don't believ- Are you SERIOUS?!" Malcolm Wallace gaped at Jim and then around at the group. They all stared back at him in silence.

"Why am I ALWAYS the last to know anything around here?!"

Jim patted Malcolm's shoulder sympathetically in an attempt to stop the researcher from pulling his own hair out.

"But Lucas?! The killer?!" Malcolm evidently wasn't about to calm down any time soon. "How did we catch him?!"

All eyes turned to Jim and he was forced to relay the whole story again for their benefit. When he finished, Reilly spoke up.

"May I have your permission to speak, sir?"

Jim glanced laughingly at his wife before turning back to Reilly.

"Yes, Sergeant. And I've told you before, if you have something to say, say it. You don't need permission!"

Reilly nodded.

"Thank you, sir. I was just wondering if you had any long term plans on what to do with Lucas. He can't stay in the brig forever, and seeing as it would be unwise to release him, either to the colony or the wilderness .."

Jim frowned.

"What's your reasoning behind his having to leave the brig?"

Reilly opened her mouth to answer, but Malcolm interrupted.

"As much as I would love to just dump him in a hole and forget he ever existed, Sergeant Reilly has a point. The brig simply isn't set up for long term inhabitants. There's no water, no bathroom services - he'd have to have his meals brought to him day in and day out. It's .." Malcolm put his hands together for a moment, trying to find the right words. ".. It's a waste of time and resources."

Reilly nodded her agreement. The creases in Jim's forehead deepened as he began to see the range of the problem.

"Not to mention on Friday nights, the brig is very often full of .." Elisabeth gave Boylan a meaningful look. ".. intoxicated brawlers."

Boylan shifted uncomfortably, and altered the conversation a little to take the focus off himself.

"Look, the point - which I think we can all agree on - is that he _can't .. stay .. in the Brig." _

Jim sighed and sat down in the Commander's chair, leaning on the desk. After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, he leaned back.

"Does ANYONE have any bright ideas?"

His council looked around blankly at each other. Boylan raised an eyebrow.

"House arrest?"

Malcolm immediately squashed this well-meant suggestion.

"Are you mad?! He's a genius! He's BRILLIANT - evil, but brilliant nonetheless. You put him under ordinary house arrest, you can say goodbye to him in less than a week. It would take INCREDIBLY sophisticated technology to contain him!"

Every member of the small group paused and stared at Malcolm. Jim smiled a little and bounced his eyebrows.

"Oh no .." Malcolm had his occasional flaky moments, but he was surprisingly quick. "No WAY. Not if you paid me a million pounds!"

Jim jumped up and gripped his shoulder in support.

"Come on, Malcolmus! You're the only person in this colony with the skills and resources to get this done. There isn't another soul in Terra Nova that can do what you can. It'd solve a big problem for everyone. We'd all .." gesturing to everyone ".. be grateful to you."

Malcolm smiled over-enthusiastically and pushed Jim's hand away.

"No."

Elisabeth laughed.

"Oh, come on, Malcolm. We're asking for your help. If anyone can do this .."

"And you can make the punishments if he breaks out of containment as petty - as ingenious!" after a gentle backhand slap from his wife ".. as you like."

Malcolm smiled begrudgingly at Elisabeth. He was fully aware of being shamelessly manipulated, but he secretly liked the idea of being responsible for the imprisonment of Terra Nova's number one enemy.

"I suppose .. I'll see what I can do. JUST .. give me a few weeks."

Jim slapped Malcolm's back a little too hard.

"You're alright, Malcolmus."

* * *

When Dunham brought Lucas' supper that night, the jailbird found he was starving. He hadn't eaten real food in about a week, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a decent meal. He reached out his cuffed hands and accepted his tray meekly.

".. thanks."

"Sure." Dunham folded his arms and waited for Lucas to finish and hand him the tray back. He stared around at the dimly lit walls. "Nice place you've got here."

Lucas snorted and smiled cynically.

"Isn't it? I helped design this brig, you know .. just my luck to be landed here." He returned to his food.

"I dunno, your luck doesn't seem so bad to me. If Skye hadn't, uh-" Dunham faltered mid-sentence and suddenly looked like he wanted to pull his own tongue out. Maybe Lucas hadn't .. But Lucas was already staring at him intently, completely alert. He finished chewing his mouthful and swallowed it slowly.

"If Skye hadn't .. what .. ?"

"N-Nothing." Dunham reddened and headed rapidly toward the door. Lucas leaned on his knees, his tray cast aside and forgotten. He barely noticed as Dunham's distressed face vanished behind the solid door. Skye had found him .. had saved him .. Skye, of all people .. Lucas stared into space for a long time before eventually placing his abandoned tray on the ground, lying back and attempting to sleep, but even then, the disturbed dreams made him restless. He was running .. no, he was lying on the grass, bleeding .. he heard a soft voice and felt the cold, hard stone against his back. He tossed in his cot. The pain, the betrayal, the healing and safety, the imprisonment .. and at the centre of it all .. Skye. She had been woven into his fate since the beginning.

Lucas opened his eyes on the morning after his first night in the brig with one unwavering conclusion in his mind.

He had to see Skye.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was late afternoon when Taylor's Rover drove through the front gate. The wheels splashed and slipped a little in the mix of melting snow and mud as the Rover skidded to a halt. Jim was standing nearby to greet him when he jumped out of the vehicle. Security had spotted the inbound Rover as it emerged from the trees a few hundred metres away, and Jim had come down to see what Taylor's mental state was like. He took a deep breath. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation, but his senior officer had to be told sooner or later.

"Welcome Home, Commander."

"Shannon." Taylor took a deep breath and looked around the colony in satisfaction. "It's good to be home."

He smiled at Jim and patted his friend's back as they walked toward the Command Centre. Jim smoothly concealed his surprise. When Taylor had left a week ago, they hadn't exactly parted on good terms. Nathaniel had been sullen and quiet since the occupation had ended and had ignored all concerns raised by his intention of going OTG for a few days. When Jim had tried to reason with him, Taylor had almost bitten his head off. Jim had been pushed roughly aside and Taylor had sped out the gates without another word. Now, it seemed, his little trip had done him the world of good! He had returned a changed man, and though Jim was reluctant to destroy his good mood, the deed had to be done.

"Commander-"

"Shannon, you should've seen it up there at sunset, overlooking the colony. Prettiest picture you can imagine. Of course, when the snow started coming in .." Taylor whistled and chuckled to himself. ".. that mountain redefined the word "cold", I can tell you!"

Jim laughed in sympathy.

"I can imagine."

"Ahh .." Taylor turned to face Jim just before they reached the steps. "Nature has its own way of telling us things, doesn't it?"

"Yes sir, I suppose it does."

Nathaniel nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment before shifting his focus back to his second-in-command.

"Well, how were things while I was away? I take it you had everything handled. I swear, Jim, you're getting almost as good at my job as I am!"

"No chance of that, sir!" Jim shook his head with a laugh before taking on a more serious manner. "There was one development .."

Taylor stared at Jim soberly.

"Well, spit it out, Shannon. I'm fading away here!"

As Jim opened his mouth to begin, an anxious soldier interrupted them. Glancing at Commander Taylor awkwardly, he turned to speak to Jim in a low voice.

"Sir, I, uh, need to talk to you."

Before Jim could reply, Taylor patted him on the shoulder with a short laugh.

"A commander's work is never done. Off you go, Shannon. We can talk later."

As Taylor ran up the stairs into his Command Centre, Jim turned to the soldier with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, what is it?"

"Sir, Lucas Taylor wants to see you. He says it's important."

If they had happened to glance up, they would've seen Commander Taylor's eyes narrow dangerously as he watched them hurry toward the brig.

* * *

Lucas sat up in his cot as Jim entered.

"You called?"

Lucas gestured to the floor with a smirk.

"Please, sit down. Make yourself at home."

Jim folded his arms and remained standing.

"What is this about, Lucas?"

Lucas smiled amiably.

"I have information for you. I'm willing to make a trade."

"And what kind of information would that be?"

Lucas sized him up for a moment.

"I know where the Sixers camp is. I can direct you there."

"I'm sure Mira would be happy to know you'd sell her out so easily."

"Mira and I have a working arrangement. She'd give me up just as quickly. Probably quicker."

Jim highly doubted that Mira would give Lucas up at all. Whatever she was, she was extremely loyal, but he said nothing. Lucas grew impatient.

"Do you want the location, or not?"

Jim smiled. He was going to enjoy bursting the smug genius' bubble.

"Lucas, we already know where the Sixers base is located. Everyone knows. It's not a big secret, pal."

Lucas narrowed his eyes at Jim for a moment before laughing roughly.

"Bucket. I should've known she'd turn and sell them out as soon as she got her mother back."

"Actually, Skye had nothing to do with it." Jim remarked flatly.

Lucas frowned at him.

"Then how-"

"Look, how we get our information is of no concern to you. What IS your concern-"

Lucas suddenly shook his head with a short laugh.

"Curran. Of course. I wanted to just leave him out there, but Mira insisted on taking pity on him-"

"Lucas, are we done here? Because I have actual work to do." Jim was losing patience.

Lucas tilted his head and sighed long-sufferingly.

"Alright. I can help you rebuild the Portal Terminus."

"Maybe we don't want it fixed."

"I can tell you where the Phoenix Group are headed."

"We already know they're headed back to the Badlands, Lucas. Come on, you're wasting both our time."

"I can tell you how Mira communicates with 2149."

Jim was silent for a few moments. This information at least could be useful. It could give them an advantage over the Phoenix Group. Jim studied Lucas.

"And what do you want in return?"

"I'll only give the information to Skye."

"No." Jim shook his head firmly. "Not gonna happen."

"Then the deal's off."

Lucas leaned back and folded his arms as best he could with his cuffs in the way. Jim nodded.

"Fine. Don't expect me to come the next time you feel like wasting my time." As he headed for the door, Lucas called after him.

"Just a few minutes, Shannon. The information's too valuable to refuse me that."

Jim slammed the door shut behind him, but Lucas smiled. He'd gotten through after all.

* * *

Upon exiting the brig, Jim immediately sought out Taylor, but the leader of the colony was nowhere to be found. After searching the Command Centre for a second time, Jim ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Where could he be?! Perhaps after eating, he had gone straight to bed. Jim made up his mind and headed back down to the brig. Looking around as he approached the guard at the door, Jim breathed an internal sigh of relief. At least Taylor hadn't slipped past him and made his way down here! He addressed the guard at the door.

"Guzman, who's next on shift?"

Guzman looked up and knotted his eyebrows. After a moment, his face cleared.

"Brady."

Jim nodded.

"Listen, can you tell Brady that if he catches sight of Commander Taylor, especially down here, he needs to contact me immediately. Even if it's in the middle of the night. Same goes for you."

"Sure." Guzman frowned. "Do you think he might .. respond unfavourably .. to the news that his son is back in town?"

Jim shrugged. "I don't really know. Let's just hope he doesn't find out until I get a chance to tell him. Understand?"

Guzman nodded.

"Loud and clear."

Jim gave him a grateful pat on the shoulder and left the brig once again. He stepped outside just as Terra Nova's boundary lights were flickering on. One more stop before he could sign off for the night. As he walked past his house, he stared longingly through the window at his family. Elisabeth, Zoe, and Josh appeared to be getting ready for dinner. The latter two were sitting at the table engaged in an amusingly serious game. Just one more stop, then he could return. He proceeded on up the gravel street and soon arrived at his destination. Deborah answered the door on the second knock.

"Jim? Is something wrong?"

Jim glanced past her into the house.

"Oh, nothing too serious, but .. would you mind stepping outside for a moment?"

Deborah stepped outside and closed the door gently. She turned to him with raised eyebrows, looking so much like her inquisitive daughter that Jim had to hide a smile.

"It's pretty cold out here, so I'll make this quick. Lucas Taylor is asking to see Skye." He watched her closely. He hadn't known her before her husband's death and her own illness, but she still didn't look very strong to him. Hopefully this update didn't worry her too much. Deborah's expression barely altered.

"So tell him he can't see her."

Jim shifted in discomfort.

"It's .. not quite that simple. He .."

"He's offering you something in return." Deborah nodded as the understanding dawned. "What is it?"

"Information. How Mira communicates with the future." Jim continued as Deborah nodded again, smiling sadly. "I already told him no deal. I just thought you should know before everyone else does .. just in case."

"Just in case what?"

"Just in case people start putting pressure on her. You know. It's your decision whether you tell her or not." Jim hesitated. He didn't know this woman very well. "But if I may say so, I think Skye's pretty good at deciding what she can and can't cope with."

Deborah smiled at him and shook her head.

"She's so brave and she's been through so much already. She needs to move on, put this behind her. I don't want her seeing him. I don't want her to have to make the decision."

"Understood." Jim tensed guiltily as Skye slowly opened the front door. Deborah turned to smile at her daughter.

"I'm just talking to Mr. Shannon. I'll be in in a moment."

Skye didn't move. Instead she gestured to the door with a wry smile.

"These doors .. not very soundproof."

"Not when someone's standing behind them listening to other peoples' private conversations at any rate." Her mother raised a knowing eyebrow.

Skye laughed in mock indignation before becoming more serious.

"You don't want me making a decision about what?" She leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded.

Deborah glanced at Jim, who shrugged helplessly. Seeing no way around it, she sighed and turned to her daughter.

"Lucas wants to see you."

Skye frowned and looked past her mother, addressing Jim.

"Why?"

Jim looked at the ground for a moment, considering his words carefully.

"Skye .. I don't know why he wants to see you. I suppose he has his own reasons." He hesitated. "He was willing to give up some information, but only to you." Seeing the distress cloud her face, he hurriedly added, "I told him it wasn't possible."

Skye stared up at the oncoming night for a moment before staring right into Jim's eyes seriously.

"His information .. it's important, isn't it? It can make a difference."

Jim glanced at Deborah, who looked back at him gravely, but neither of them said anything. They didn't have to. Skye shook her head and laughed weakly.

"He always has a game plan."

Her mother stepped forward.

"Listen to me, Bucket. Skye, look at me." Deborah put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "This is not your responsibility anymore. You don't have to do this."

"No one's asking you to do this, Skye." Jim added. "There are other ways we can get information out of hi-" He pulled up abruptly as Deborah shot him a warning look.

Skye pulled back from both of them.

"Thank you both, but I don't need protecting. I need to go to bed." She turned and went inside.

Jim and Deborah exchanged a helpless look.

"Guess the ball's in her court now." Jim stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes. "It's been a long day. I'm going home. If you need anything, let me know." He patted Deborah's shoulder and disappeared into the dusk. Deborah watched him go and then stood for a moment, gazing up at the star-speckled evening sky. Gradually, she came to a decision. Jim may not be able to do anything, but she might. She wrapped her shawl around herself a little more snugly and headed inside. It was time she had a talk with Lucas Taylor.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 **

Skye was still sleeping when Deborah made her way to the brig the next morning. Reynolds attempted to hide a yawn as she approached.

"I need to see him." She nodded towards the door separating them from the brig.

Reynolds shook his head.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm not allowed to let anyone in or out."

"Please." Deborah smiled at him. "I have to talk to him. For my daughter's sake."

Mark opened his mouth to deny the request again when the sound of footsteps halted the conversation. Deborah felt the soldier beside her tense. They waited in silence, facing the stairway. After a long few seconds, Jim appeared around the corner. Mark immediately relaxed.

"Oh. Mr. Shannon, it's just you. I-I mean .."

Jim put his hand on his chest.

"Just me?! .. Reynolds, I am hurt." He turned to Deborah as Mark stammered feebly. "I wasn't aware there was a party in here this morning."

"She wants to see Lu- the prisoner." Mark was still slightly off his game. Jim ignored him and raised his eyebrows at Deborah.

"Does she?"

Deborah nodded patiently. Jim narrowed his eyes.

"Why?"

"That's my business."

Jim looked like he was about to say something else when a movement above made him and Mark glance at each other nervously.

"He hasn't .. ?"

Mark shook his head in answer to the cryptic question.

"No, he hasn't been down here."

Jim nodded.

"Right. Reynolds, let her see Lucas, but cuff him to the bed and stay close to the door. I'll see to our other .. issue."

With that, Jim ran upstairs and Mark and Deborah entered the brig.

* * *

Deborah shivered as Mark secured a sleepy Lucas to the cot. The brig felt like a refrigerator. As Lucas sat up with his hair all over the place, Mark went to the door, remarking to Deborah as he went past:

"I'll be right out there if you need me. Watch yourself."

With that, Mark was gone, and Deborah and Lucas were left to stare at each other.

"Deborah." Lucas finally spoke. "What a nice surprise."

"Lucas." Deborah watched him with a touch of regret. "For whatever it's worth to you, I am glad you made it."

Lucas turned his immediate frown into a careless laugh.

"I'm sure you are. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Deborah was silent for a moment before answering, trying to gauge his current state of mind.

"I don't want you to ask for Skye again."

Lucas nodded lazily, hiding his momentary disappointment behind an expertly crafted facade.

"Of course. I should've known."

Deborah could see right through him, but she kept any thoughts about that to herself.

"She needs to move on, Lucas. You've hurt her enough, don't you think?"

Lucas scoffed and raised his eyebrows at her sarcastically.

"_I've_ hurt _her?!"_ He shook his head as if trying to comprehend the magnitude of his grievances. "You know, Deb, I thought there was a chance you might've come to see me because you actually cared. I should've trusted my own instincts. Everyone has an agenda."

Lucas laughed bitterly.

"You know what the worst part is? .. I thought she'd come around eventually. I thought of all people, she might understand. I mean, he disowned her too. He walked out on us both! But no. Turns out she's just as _loyal_ .." He almost spat the word. ".. as the rest of these lemmings."

Deborah stiffened as his eyes flashed dangerously.

"She put me here. I gave her so many chances and she betrayed me. I warned her, I forgave her, I protected her .. should've just shot her when I had the chance. My father would be DEAD and I wouldn't be HERE!"

The rage subsided as quickly as it had appeared, and he slumped down against the pillar in defeat.

Deb was staring at him, barely concealing her own fury. She took a deep breath and unclenched her jaw, willing herself to calm down. He would be no use to anyone dead .. strangled with her scarf .. She shook her head and spoke sternly to him.

"She does whatever it takes to protect the people around her. She shot you because you forced her. She would never kill in cold blood .."

She trailed off, and let the rest of the sentence hang in the air, but Lucas understood it well enough. _".. unlike some people. Unlike you."_

Deborah began walking toward the door.

"Deb." Lucas hesitated, looking surprisingly tired and submissive for once. "No matter what you may think of me, I'm not a murderer."

Deborah paused at the door and smiled faintly.

"Yes .." She glanced at Lucas before exiting the room. ".. you are."

As the door shut firmly behind her, Lucas was left to his silence.

* * *

Jim met Taylor at the top of the stairs.

"Aha, THERE you are!" He directed them both outside. "I was looking all over for you last night, you know. You're a tricky man to find when you want to disappear!"

Taylor smiled at him in vague confusion.

"Oh. Sorry about that. I just sat down on my bed for a minute and before I knew it, the sun was streaming through my windows. Guess I must've been more tired than I thought!"

Jim shook his head with a smile.

"Ah, it's alright. We all have those days." He leaned closer to Taylor and lowered his voice a little. "I hear they come more and more frequently as you get older."

Taylor shook his head and laughed.

"Ain't that the truth?"

They headed up to the Command Centre. As they entered the open room at the top, Taylor turned to Jim.

"Now I seem to recall you wanting to talk to me about something."

Jim nodded.

"That's right, I do." He gestured to a nearby chair. "Sit down. Please."

Nathaniel obeyed.

"Bad news, huh? Give it to me straight, Jim. I'm a big boy, I can handle it."

Jim leaned against Taylor's desk and breathed in slowly. Do it quickly. Just rip the bandage off.

"Not bad news exactly. We've found Lucas. He's in the brig."

He waited for the eruption, but Taylor was simply staring into space. After a few minutes, Jim ventured a few more words.

"No one really understands how he survived .. but then I don't really understand all this newfangled medical technology in the first place." He attempted a laugh, but Taylor only groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday?"

"I tried, but I couldn't find you." Jim repeated the same thing he'd told the Commander a few minutes earlier. Taylor stood up and went to the window, evidently in great distress.

"If you want to see him, I can take you down there-"

"No." Taylor turned on Jim in barely restrained anger. "I don't want to see him. I just want .. How did he get back here?" He abandoned his previous thought.

Jim hesitated.

"One of our youngsters discovered him and came and got me."

"Why were they out there in the first place?"

Jim shrugged.

"Ah, you know how these kids get. Cooped up too long and they get cabin fever. I told them it better not happen again." He wasn't sure why he'd felt the need to conceal Skye's identity, but seeing as he hadn't out-and-out lied to the Commander of the colony, it was probably for the best. Skye could tell him herself if she wanted to.

Taylor put his hand up to his head and feigned a stumble. Jim darted forward to take hold of his arm firmly. Taylor waved him away.

"It's alright, Shannon, I just .. I think I need to lie down."

He patted Jim's shoulder with a weak smile.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Sure thing."

Jim watched with a concerned frown as Taylor walked unsteadily around the back of the Command Centre and slowly closed the sliding door.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"How's it coming, Malcolm?"

The researcher almost leaped out of his skin as Jim spoke up directly behind him. He turned around in aggravated alarm.

"Don't DO that. These chemicals are very sensitive!" Malcolm put down the couple of vials he was holding and took his lab goggles off. "There."

Jim watched in mild amusement as Malcolm wrote down something on the table screen. He finally finished and turned back to Jim, placing the touch pen on the table with emphasis.

"Now, seeing as I assume your only reason for coming isn't simply to torment me, how can I help you?"

Jim began fiddling with a small object on the table.

"I've come for a status update on your house arrest gadgets."

He frowned as Malcolm confiscated his toy.

"Gadgets?! These are highly sophisticated .. containment devices." He twitched his eyebrows disdainfully. Jim smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Well, can I SEE them?"

Malcolm muttered something and headed into a back room. Jim followed.

"In here." Malcolm shut the door secretively once Jim was inside. Jim raised an eyebrow patronisingly as his companion began closing the shutters.

"Is this really necessary?"

Malcolm finished closing the last of the shutters and turned to pull a metal box out from under a desk.

"This .. is completely necessary. And THIS .." He put the box on the desk gently and turned to Jim, looking excited in spite of himself. ".. is what I've been working on."

He pulled out a couple of small futuristic-looking cuffs and handed one to Jim, who turned it over in his hands, examining it.

"Looking to make a fashion statement, Malcolm?"

Malcolm scoffed and pulled out a couple of dog tags that he had been hiding under his shirt. Jim chuckled.

"Thinking of enlisting? Somehow, I don't think you're the military type - OW." He dropped the offending cuff on the table as it gave him a nasty zap. He glared at Malcolm, who was sorely failing in his attempt not to laugh at Jim's pain. Jim rubbed his tingling hand.

"What did you do?!"

Malcolm started laughing for real now.

"I'm sorry, Jim, but you should've seen your face!" Malcolm cleared his throat and, managing to gain control of himself again, picked up the discarded cuff with a frown.

"I know it gave you a shock, but was it really necessary to throw it across the room?!" He looked at Jim with a disapproving scowl. Jim stared back with the same unimpressed expression. Malcolm decided to proceed with the business at hand.

"These cuffs were made specially for our newest member of the colony. This one-"

_"Malcolm!"_ Jim interrupted in a horrified tone of voice. "I know the Wilsons' baby cries a lot, but she's not THAT bad!"

Malcolm glared at him for a moment before continuing.

"This one goes on the left wrist .. like so." He demonstrated the correct way to put the cuff on, but hurriedly removed it before continuing. "Once on, it connects to the wearer's pulse and when activated, it gives the wearer a rather horrid zap, similar to the effects of a medium-strength electric shock. THIS one .." picking up the other cuff ".. goes on the right wrist and is filled with a certain chemical and equipped with a tiny needle. When activated, it injects the chemical directly into the wearer's bloodstream, which causes the wearer to fall completely unconscious in a matter of seconds."

Catching sight of Jim's morbid expression, he added,

"Uh, but don't worry. The chemical wears off within a few minutes with little negative effects to the wearer besides a possible headache for a few hours afterwards. Your wife even uses the same drug for minor operations! Completely harmless."

Jim nodded, looking vaguely impressed.

"Wow. Well, nice work, Malcolmus!"

Malcolm beamed.

"AND both cuffs can be controlled by the click of a button." He showed Jim the plain tags, one featuring a blue fingerprint and the other a red. "Blue is for left - electrocution. Red is for right - chemical."

"Impressive! When can we start using them?"

Malcolm made a sharp choking sound and looked like he was about to have a seizure.

"They're not half ready yet! I still have a ton of things that need adjusting, AND I need to build the electronic perimeter AND sync it with the bracelets AND -"

"Alright, alright. I'll get out of your hair then."

Jim glanced at the top of Malcolm's head with a grin and left the room, throwing a last look over his shoulder.

"Keep up the good work, Doctor Wallace."

Malcolm put his goggles back on and resumed his work, not knowing whether to be proud or offended.

* * *

Taylor finished up his fourth solo chess game. This was getting old. What time was it anyway? He glanced at the transparent blue tag lying on his bedside table. Scorning it, he left his room and went to the window, looking out at the sun. A quarter past two, or thereabouts. Why was this day taking so long?! Maybe he would go for a walk. Scout out the terrain. Strolling down the steps of the Command Centre, he proceeded to wander the markets for the next couple of hours - sampling the cooking, looking at fruit and merchandise, chatting to random citizens as though he hadn't a care in the world.

Though the air still had a bit of a bite to it, they had had no more snow and the ground had finally dried up. Nathaniel contemplated the evening's activities ahead. He figured he wouldn't have a problem getting down into the brig. The guards at the door were his own men. They had to obey him without question. He actually began to enjoy himself as a third person stopped him to tell him how happy they were that he had returned safely. His colonists were very grateful for his protection. If they could see the whole picture, they'd understand why he had to do it. He caught a glimpse of Josh and Skye as he rounded the corner of the markets closest to Boylan's Bar. Maybe he had been a little too hard on Skye. All she was doing was trying to save her mother, after all. He sighed. What he wouldn't give to have a child that loyal. He considered going up to her, but it looked like the two young people were engaged in a rather intense conversation. His interruptions probably wouldn't be appreciated. Josh Shannon was a good boy when it really came down to it. She could do worse. Nathaniel smiled secretly to himself as he turned and wandered back into the thick of the markets.

* * *

"A doctor?!" Skye was exclaiming in disbelief at that very moment. Josh laughed at her bewildered expression.

"Not for a long while yet, but .. yeah. I think it's what I really want to do, you know? Helping people like that girl that needed the medication I .. I stole. For the Sixers." Josh flushed a little. "Of course, it's gonna be hard. I'm not really the studying type, and with Maddy breathing down my neck .."

Skye laughed and attempted to offer some words of sympathy, but none would come. She couldn't seem to get past the growing lump in her throat. Luckily, Josh was too excited to notice.

"I'll have to start in just about as low a position you can get, but my mom says she'll show me the ropes as best she can, and .. Skye? What's wrong?" Josh stopped in dismay as he noticed the tears in his best friend's eyes. Skye forced a laugh and shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing! I'm just .. I'm happy for you! Who would've thought the junior delinquent would've ended up a doctor? .. but I always knew you'd turn out alright." She smiled and punched his arm gently.

"You'll do great. And if you need any help with those big words .. ask your sister."

They both laughed and continued talking about other things, but Skye's heart wasn't in it. All of her old pals had moved on to other things. Max was always a gifted engineer. Hunter was studying to become a teacher, of all things, and Tasha .. after her last experience, Tasha had sworn never to venture outside the gates again. Instead, she ventured further inside them - Tasha had become an apprentice to one of Terra Nova's leading agricultural scientists. After Skye had moved back in with her mother, she barely saw them. Her one stable friendship was with Josh. He still worked at Boylan's part time, but he was always there if she needed to talk. He was always up for a game of chess, or a walk around the colony. She bit her lip. Now he would be too busy. Sure, he got a bit clingy sometimes, but she had always relied on his company. Perhaps she had taken him for granted a bit. As the sun started to set and they parted ways for the night, Skye darted forward and gave him a hug.

"I'm proud of you, you know."

When she pulled back, Josh smiled at her.

"I know."

Just before Skye reached her own doorway, she looked back. Josh had disappeared, and the street was empty. She gave herself a mental shake and stepped inside, hoping the warmth of her house would drive away the cold feeling in her stomach that seemed to have taken up residence there permanently.

* * *

An odd feeling of unease descended upon Terra Nova that night. A few hours after going to sleep, Jim Shannon woke up with a start for no apparent reason. He threw out his arm and managed to locate the tag beside his bed. A single tap revealed the time was just after midnight. He set the tag down and lay staring out at the dark. What had woken him? A few moments later, his handheld radio went off, almost making him jump out of his skin.

"Mr. Shannon? Do you copy?"

Elisabeth groaned and sat up.

"Jim? What's going on?"

Jim reached for the radio.

"I copy you, Reynolds? What's up?"

"I'm sorry to wake you, sir, but I thought you should know that Commander Taylor just came by and insisted on being let into the brig. He sent me outside."

Jim jumped out of bed. Ordinarily, the Commander of the colony wanting to be let into his own brig wouldn't be any cause for alarm, but this situation was different. Something was definitely not right.

"I'll be there in a minute, Reynolds. Over and out."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 **

Lucas woke up as the brig door opened. Curious, that someone should be visiting him at this time of night. He closed his eyes again, pretending to be asleep. It was surprising how much information you could gather if people thought you were sleeping. His thoughts were interrupted by the alarming noise of a cocked pistol somewhere near his left ear. He didn't bother opening his eyes.

"Well, if it isn't my dear old father. I was wondering when you'd show up."

"They told me you'd survived. I had to see it with my own eyes."

"Well, now you've seen it."

Taylor's pale eyes glinted in the dark brig.

"You're not even sorry, you worthless SCUM."

He grabbed Lucas' neck with his hand and pulled him into a sitting position. Lucas stared at him scornfully.

"Why should I be sorry? You've done _far_ worse things in the name of war and you're not sorry." He smiled, looking as if it caused him pain to do it. "Are you?"

Nathaniel growled.

"The things I've done, the people I've had to kill, I did it ALL to protect my country, to protect my people .. to protect YOU."

Lucas snorted and rolled his eyes, leaning back against the wall.

"How noble of you. Shouldn't have bothered."

"That's right, I shouldn't have."

Taylor held the gun inches from Lucas' face. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Well, what are you waiting for, old man? Finish it."

Nathaniel's hand began to shake - first gently, then violently. He shook his head slowly as tears entered his eyes.

"I never wanted it to end this way, son. You leave me no choice."

The tears in Lucas' eyes reflected his father's.

"Just do it then." He glanced at Taylor's rattling hand. "DO IT!"

"WAIT!" Jim charged through the door toward Nathaniel, tackling him to the ground and separating him from his weapon. They both lay panting on the floor of the brig, Taylor's gun near Jim's hand. Lucas looked on in mild surprise, but little interest. He looked as though he didn't care what happened to him anymore.

Jim turned to Taylor as a tear ran down the man's leathery cheek.

"This isn't right. This isn't the way and you know it."

They both sat up.

"You should've let it be, Shannon. You should've .." Taylor trailed off, looking exhausted. Jim helped him up.

"Come on."

With a glance at Lucas, he led the Commander out of the brig. Lucas barely noticed them leave. He was left staring catatonically into space.

* * *

After Jim had put Taylor to bed, he had returned home. Nathaniel hadn't wanted to talk, he hadn't wanted tea, he hadn't even responded when Jim suggested bed, but Jim and Reynolds made him go anyway. A couple of extra guards were posted outside Taylor's door that night. As Jim entered his house, Elisabeth stood up from her seat at the dining room table.

"Oh, Jim." She went to him and hugged him. "Come and sit down. I'll make you some tea."

Jim sat down in the seat she had recently vacated.

"What are you doing up?"

Elisabeth opened the tea jar and smiled at him before turning back to the task at hand.

"I dunno, I wasn't really tired."

Jim smiled back at her. He knew very well how often she stayed up worrying about him when he wasn't home, but neither of them acknowledged it much.

"Ah, Elisabeth." Jim took her hand as she sat down opposite him and handed him his tea. "Sometimes, I don't know .. I just don't .."

Elisabeth watched him with concern and took a sip of her own tea.

"What happened? Is Commander Taylor okay?"

Jim shook his head.

"He tried to kill his own son, Elisabeth. His SON."

His wife stared at him in distress as he became more agitated.

"I mean, I know Lucas had done some bad things - terrible, _horrific_ things, but-" Elisabeth shushed him gently.

"Shh. The kids are sleeping."

Jim lowered his voice, shaking his head again.

".. his own son .."

Elisabeth stared at a knot in the wooden table.

"I can't believe he'd ever try to .. even after everything that's happened."

"But he was going to, Elisabeth. I could see it in his eyes. He would've pulled the trigger." Jim put his head in his hands. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

Elisabeth put her hand gently on his arm.

"Jim, Taylor hasn't been well. Maybe he'll see things differently in the morning."

Jim kept leaning on one of his hands, and moved the other to rest on top of Elisabeth's.

"I hope you're right."

"The thing you have to remember is that you did your part. You got there just in time and you saved him .. you probably saved them both."

Jim sighed.

"I don't know, Liz. I'm starting to wonder if there's some people it's just not possible to save."

* * *

Jim, Elisabeth and the Taylors made up only a few of the small multitude of people that were awake that night when they should have been sleeping. One of the others was Deborah Tate. She was still thinking over her conversation with Lucas from that morning - or wait, no, now it was the morning before. Deborah stared into the dark. During her stay at the Sixers camp, she had only seen Lucas a few times. He wandered around, mostly muttering to himself like he was lost in his own little world. Every now and then, he would look at her thoughtfully and they would watch each other for a moment. Once, he had actually spoken to her. She still remembered it vividly ..

"They tell me you're sick. Sincyllic fever, right?"

It hurt to move, but Deborah had looked up at the owner of the voice. It had been a long time since either of them had lived in the colony, but something about his face made her pause and take a closer look. She had only met Lucas a couple of times, and to be sure, he had changed a fair bit by now, but he still had the same look about him - intelligent, yet somehow abstract, distant. It was unclear whether he remembered her or not. He took a seat near her and continued talking.

"I had the fever once. Painful business."

Deborah had smiled at him. Thus rewarded, Lucas had persevered with the conversation.

"They tell me you were from Terra Nova."

Deborah nodded as Lucas stared at something near the end of the bed. His eyes filled with anger.

"Well, you're lucky. You got out."

"So did you." Deborah managed to say. Lucas smiled at her and rubbed the scars on his neck thoughtfully.

"That's right. I did." He seemed to drift away a little bit. "And soon my father will be dead and everything else will be nothing but a memory."

Deborah had looked worried.

"You're going to kill him?"

"If I have to." Lucas shrugged. "I'll do whatever it takes."

At that moment, Deborah began to shiver uncontrollably. Lucas watched her.

"Are you cold?"

Deborah shook her head.

"I'm alright."

Lucas had nodded and taken his leave then, but he had returned a few days later with a blanket in his arms.

"I .. brought you something."

He had laid it over her gently and started to withdraw. Deborah had reached out and taken his hand.

"Lucas .. thank you."

Lucas had jumped when she touched him, and now he slowly removed his arm and retreated a few steps away.

"Don't mention it, Deborah."

Deborah rolled onto her side. She had known he was dangerous, even back then. He had a vengeful streak that was unpredictable at best and close to terrifying at worst, and she certainly didn't want him anywhere near her daughter. But deep down, she could see he was lost and searching, and, truth be told, Deborah had always had a soft spot for abandoned creatures. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she had a feeling that if anybody could reach him, she could. It was pretty cold in the brig. Perhaps she would go and see him tomorrow and return the favour. With that settled in her mind, Deborah soon fell asleep.

Unbeknownst to her mother, Skye was also lying awake a few doors away. Her mind was tossing this way and that. First thinking of Josh and his medicine, then Lucas, then Commander Taylor .. Her mind returned to Josh. What was she going to do while he was busy? She normally occupied herself with odd jobs around the colony - cleaning, waitressing at the Bar, helping with preparations for pilgrimages and the like. She had had a medical internship at the Infirmary at one stage, but ever since she had tampered with the evidence in the Sixer spy investigation, she'd been forced to abandon any plans in that department. Elisabeth understood why she had done it, and sympathised with her, but rules were rules. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if being a doctor would've suited her anyway. Too much research, too little sunshine. She was still surprised Josh had chosen the medical profession. After all, she was his closest friend and hadn't suspected it! Guess you never can tell what direction people are going to go in. But now, it was back to her. She had always just sort of drifted around, not knowing where she was going or what was going to happen next. Since she had gotten her mother back, she had some stability, but .. now what?! The only thing she had ever wanted to be when she was younger was a soldier, like her father. Yet, she had never seriously considered joining Taylor's security team. She had always figured there would be more rules and orders than she could deal with. But it was an exciting job. Variety. Lots of outdoor work. She was already a pretty good shot - Taylor had said so himself. They probably wouldn't even let her join, what with her own less-than-spotless record. Still, they'd let Curran back in - it couldn't hurt to ask. She thought back to the occupation. Some self-defence training might be useful anyway in case of another attack. Maybe tomorrow she'd search out Jim.

Having that settled in her head for now, her mind turned to other matters. Lucas' "deal" had been bothering her ever since she had first heard of it. She'd tried to put it out of her mind for a while, but it kept coming back. Could she really be of use to the colony by speaking to him? If she had a chance to help out in such an important regard, surely she should set aside her own personal feelings and just do it. What could he do anyway, handcuffed and in the brig? He was a resource now - there to be used. The last thing she wanted to do was sit and talk with him, but when so many other people had been forced to already .. Elisabeth had had to look after him while he was recovering! Surely she could sit and listen to him talk. Giving her the information was his idea after all. If he made her uncomfortable, she could simply leave. This was an easier decision. She would go to see Lucas in the morning.

Exhausted with the effort of having thought all these things through, Skye fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

When Jim awoke the next morning, he threw down some breakfast, kissed his wife and children goodbye, and headed straight over to the Command Centre to check on Taylor. He'd managed to get a few hours of fitful sleep, but he had never really settled. Elisabeth could testify to it. Dismissing the tired guards at the door, he knocked and went in, not waiting for an answer. Nathaniel was sitting in the corner of the small room, at a little table. Seeing no other chairs around, Jim pulled up the bedside table, threw a couple of small things off of it, and sat on it. Taylor didn't look good. He had his head in his hands and hadn't even looked up when Jim entered the room. Jim leaned on the table and clasped his hands together.

"How are you doing, Commander?"

Taylor groaned.

"Leave me be, Shannon. On second thought, lock me up as well. It'd probably be safer for the colony."

"Nonsense. I will not lock you up and I won't have you talking like that."

Taylor laughed lifelessly.

"You're a good man, Jim, and a good friend. But the truth is, I snapped. I had it in my head that the only way to protect the colony was to get rid of him for good." He looked at Jim with guilty sadness in his eyes. "I tried to kill him, Shannon. My own son, my own boy. Ahhh .."

He put his head in his hands again, as if the memory of last night was too painful to recall.

Jim leaned back.

"Look, you-" he caught the side of the table as he almost fell off his seat "-you made a mistake. We all make mistakes. Even the Commander of Terra Nova."

He smiled reassuringly as Taylor looked at him again. The Commander gave him a weak smile back, but still appeared to be overcome with shame.

"Look, why don't we go for a walk? We can check the boundary fences." Jim was somewhat comforted by the fact that Taylor seemed simply to be a confused, grieving father rather than a remorseless killer. When Taylor hesitated, his second-in-command insisted. "Come on, it'll be good for you. You can't sit here forever."

Taylor reluctantly agreed, and they headed out. As they passed the busy market stalls, Jim wondered, as he always did, how early these people must get up. The stalls were already filling with customers, and judging by the mix of mouth-watering scents, the food had been cooking for a while.

They continued on in silence, walking behind the houses and along the fence. They had just passed their fifth house when Taylor finally spoke.

"Everything I do is to protect these people, Jim. I'd lay down my life for them in a heartbeat if I had to."

Jim looked at him and nodded.

"I know you would."

"And the truth is, I wish my son had died when he went down with Sincyllic fever a few months after he got here. It would've saved .. so much pain."

Jim stayed silent on this point.

Little else was said as they continued around the fence and returned to the front of the colony. Taylor seemed to have cheered up a little, but was still uncharacteristically quiet. As they neared the markets, a woman approached them with a baby in her arms. She smiled and turned the baby around to face them. He stared at them curiously before breaking out into smiles. Jim laughed. Even Taylor smiled. The woman bounced the baby a little.

"Commander, you remember little Nathaniel?"

Taylor reached out and took the baby's hand.

"Of course I do. Hallo, Nathaniel."

As the other two continued talking and admiring the baby, out of the corner of his eye, Jim happened to notice someone moving quickly toward the brig. He excused himself and left Taylor in his colonist's capable hands, strolling quickly toward the brig in pursuit of Skye. What was she up to now?

* * *

Skye had made her way towards the brig as soon as she was sure her mother was distracted. Judging by Deborah's previous walks, she should have at least an hour. Turning at the door to take a last glance at the stall her mother had been examining, she instead came face to face with Jim Shannon.

"Oh! Mr. Shannon." Skye laughed a little at her own startled gasp. "You just about gave me a heart attack."

Jim smiled and opened the door for her. Skye entered quickly, waiting for the question that was sure to arrive any minute. No sooner had Jim shut the door than he turned to her.

"Alright, spill it. What are you doing here?"

Skye raised her eyebrows, feigning innocence.

"I've come to interrogate your prisoner."

"Is that right?"

Skye nodded, but Jim shook his head affectionately.

"You don't have to do this, Skye. No one else knows about Lucas' suggestion. You can just go home and forget-"

"No, I can't." Skye shook her head. "I have to go see him. You understand, don't you?"

Jim nodded.

"Yeah, I understand." He held up his pointing finger. "But I'll be right outside if you need me. Just give me a yell."

Skye smiled at him.

"Deal."

"You're a brave kid - uh, I'm sorry - young lady."

Skye laughed at the correction.

"Just .. doin' my duty."

Jim nodded in approval.

"You'd make a good soldier."

As they made their way downstairs, Skye fidgeted nervously with her bracelet.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you a question about that."

Jim smiled sarcastically.

"Here we go." He grinned at her. "Well, what is it?"

Skye took a deep breath.

"Josh told me yesterday he was starting a medical internship .."

Jim smiled proudly.

"Yes, he is. Who would've thought, huh? One day, there'll be two Dr. Shannons in Terra Nova - _three_, actually." He corrected himself. "If Maddy gets her own way and becomes a lab apprentice to Malcolm." He tried not to grimace, but Skye saw it anyway and hid a smile.

"Zoe better not get a doctorate, or I'll be left with no children to carry on in my footsteps!" He laughed. Skye knew he was joking, but she suspected some part of it was real. He was proud of his wife's accomplishments, but there was something awkward about being the only person in the family without "Doctor" in front of their name.

"Anyway, what is it you wanted to ask me about?"

They had reached the bottom of the stairs by now and were standing in front of the door. Lucas sat waiting on the other side. Skye turned her back on the ominous entrance and looked Jim in the eye.

"What with Josh starting his internship, I was wondering if .." She hesitated and Jim raised his eyebrows patiently. "If I asked to join the security team, would I be accepted?"

Jim frowned.

"I don't see why not. We could put you through basic training. If you really wanted to commit after that, we could enlist you as a Private. But, Skye .." He looked worried. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

Skye's stomach clenched.

"You don't think I'd be any good as a soldier?"

Jim shook his head.

"No, it's not that at all! In fact, I think you're probably well-suited to the job. I just don't want you to rush into anything." He watched her thoughtfully as she hesitated. "Then again, it wouldn't hurt to complete basic training. If you wanted out after that, there would be no obligation to stay."

She looked up at him and nodded.

"When can we start?"

"I'll talk to Sergeant Reilly this afternoon and see how she feels about it. If she agrees, I'll send her over to your house tomorrow with a uniform. The first thing she'll probably get you to do is a fitness test, but between you and me, I think you'll be fine."

Skye suddenly had to swallow a bizarre impulse to sob as Jim patted her shoulder gently.

"It seems I was wrong. I may have found someone to follow in my footsteps after all."

Skye bit her lip to stop the tears coming into her eyes. Her father hadn't been a fan of many people, but she had a feeling he would've liked Jim Shannon.

"Now go on. I'll be right here the whole time."

He smiled at her and as she turned to the brig door, she swallowed hard. She had to steady herself before she walked in. Lucas would take advantage of every weak point in her armour. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

* * *

Lucas looked up with a bored glance as Skye entered. When he realised who had come to visit him, however, his eyes lit up in surprised pleasure. He attempted a careless expression, but couldn't contain a slight smile. She was here. She had come.

"Well, well .. Bucket .. I hear I have you to thank for .. well, all of this actually."

He released a quiet laugh and then settled down to watch her silently, studying her as she studied him. He'd lost a bit of weight since she last saw him, but he was certainly looking much more alive than he had when he'd been discovered in the cave. Though she would never admit it to him, Skye was glad she hadn't killed him. There was a strange horror in expelling the life from someone, in ending their time in this universe, wherever they went afterwards. That was something the murderer in front of her would never understand. He waited for her to speak first. After a few moments, Skye came a little closer.

"I came because they said you had some information for me. Start talking or I'll leave you to your .. self-reflection."

She couldn't resist a smug smile at his expense. She knew him well enough to know that being trapped down here with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company must be torture for him. He often sat staring into space, thinking, but he was always solving problems, and with no problems to solve and no way to write his thoughts down, the young physicist was going slightly insane - a fact that the young woman in front of him was very well aware of.

Lucas tilted his head to the side and smiled dryly.

"Ah, I have missed you, Bucket."

Skye visibly tensed.

"You don't get to call me that. That nickname is for my family only, and you are definitely not a part of my family. We're not even friends, and we never will be."

Lucas was silent for a moment, before breaking eye contact with her for the first time and laughing coolly.

"That hurts, Buck- .. Skye." as she made to walk out the door. Satisfied for the moment, Skye folded her arms and resumed her original stance.

"I'm here, Lucas. You said you wanted to talk to me, and I came. So what-"

"You sure you didn't come because you felt guilty?" Lucas had a dangerous glint in his eyes now. "Because you betrayed me. You shot me."

Skye was unmoved.

"That wasn't my choice, was it? You forced me to."

"To protect my father." Lucas was bristling with anger now. "The man who betrayed us. Our enemy. But instead of shooting him, you shot ME."

"Commander Taylor may not be speaking to me right now, but he will always be a better man than you are."

Lucas shook his head in disbelief.

"Still protecting him, aren't you? Still believing his lies."

"The only lies I'm hearing around here are yours."

Lucas and Skye stared antagonistically at each other for a moment before Lucas continued in a quieter voice.

"You still haven't asked him about Somalia, have you?"

Skye shook her head.

"Why should I? It's none of my business."

Lucas stared into space.

"If you knew, you'd understand."

"What makes you think I care?"

His eyes flicked up to hers.

"You're not even curious?"

"Why should I be? I trust Taylor."

"Trust!" Lucas snapped. "That's your biggest problem, Bucket. Blind trust."

"I told you not to call me that."

"What are you going to do about it?!"

Lucas jumped up from his bed in frustration. Skye backed away warily toward the door, breathing a little faster than normal.

"I just came to tell you that we're even now. Yes, I shot you, but I saved you. Now I never want to see or hear from you again, so leave me alone."

As Skye turned to go, Lucas' amused voice came from behind her.

"I thought you came here for information."

She paused with her hand on the door and closed her eyes. Right. The information. The reason for coming here in the first place. Why had she allowed herself to get so distracted?!

She turned back to Lucas as he sat down again.

"Start talking then."

Lucas appeared to perceive that he had pushed her as far as he could in one day. He began speaking patiently.

"I'll tell you how Mira communicates with the future. Just .. come sit down."

Skye returned to her spot - a safe distance between Lucas and the door - and leaned against the pillar.

"Go on."

Lucas spoke as slowly as possible without Skye catching on in order to stretch out the time.

"Mira has a device - let's call it a telephone, to use a somewhat old-fashioned word - that allows her to talk to the future." He paused. "Should you be taking notes?"

Skye looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"Go on."

Lucas shrugged and continued.

"In order for it to work, it has to be perfectly calibrated to send a pinpointed signal into the undilated fracture and through to the 22nd century. I took a look at it one day when she wasn't at camp." He hesitated, and Skye stared at him in exasperation.

"Go ON, Lucas."

"It also needs to be set to a specific frequency in order to work, since her employers must have the receiver set up somewhere on their end." He finished.

"So they could be stopped from communicating with the future by something as simple as throwing the signal off course, or disrupting the frequency?" "Theoretically, yes. Telephone calls between dimensions are very finicky." He smiled, but Skye was staring at the wall, evidently deep in thought.

"The device must be incredibly valuable. I'm not even sure how she got it here. Must've brought the parts with her and assembled it somehow." Lucas added.

Skye looked back at him.

"Is that it?"

"For today. Next time, I might give you something else."

Skye didn't respond to this deliberate attempt to bait her into making a commitment of returning.

"Then we're done."

As she headed for the door for the third time, Lucas spoke up, sounding more repentant than he had all morning.

"Hey. I didn't mean to scare you .. before."

Skye glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you didn't."

With that said, she left the room. As the door closed behind her, Lucas shook his head with a little smile. She was still the same stubborn, unshakable Bucket.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

As Skye wandered away from the brig and into the markets, something Lucas had said was bothering her. He had mentioned "Mira's employers", as though they weren't the same people as his own employers. She frowned. A slip of the tongue? But then, why would he have had to sneak in to get a look at the device when Mira wasn't there? Was it just because Mira didn't like anyone in her tent? Surely if they'd been sent by the same people, he'd know all about it already. Skye shrugged. She'd done her part, anyway. She felt surprisingly at ease now that she had finally talked to him. Nothing to be dreaded anymore.

Taylor came into view as she strolled the markets, looking for a good place to get some lunch. He had just finished his own lunch. The woman with the baby had taken him home and fed him. The food was very good, but baby Nathaniel had started crying on the way home and hadn't stopped. Taylor had thanked her for the meal and left with a growing headache on top of his already-frazzled nerves. He took a seat on a bench facing the brig. With the amount of people milling about, he only caught occasional glimpses of it, but it was enough. Jim had arrived just in time to rescue his son from the hand of termination, but Lucas wasn't safe forever. He would try again, and the next time, he would succeed. He had managed to throw suspicion off himself with his remorseful act, luckily, but Jim had refused to let him go back to work for the day. Consequently, now that his stomach was full, Nathaniel settled down to observe the comings and goings in the market. Every now and then, he narrowed his eyes toward the brig, wondering what the imprisoned boy downstairs was up to. Taylor remained in this position for the next few hours, saying hi to the occasional passerby or watching the sun slowly sink on the horizon. As night was beginning to fall and the intermittent ray of sunlight was spearing through the dusk, Taylor caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure hurrying toward the brig. He sat very still and watched closely as she approached the door. It was difficult to see, let alone recognise her through the crowd of market people tearing down their stalls for the night, but as she opened the door, she glanced around for a moment before ducking quietly inside. In that moment, Taylor realised who she was and curled his lip in disgusted fury.

Deborah.

* * *

As Deborah entered the cold brig, she hugged the blanket to herself anxiously. It was a nice enough blanket - large and soft, but she wasn't sure how Lucas would take the gesture. She had left the house not long after Skye had. She didn't expect to be out long, and Skye needn't know. Her daughter was having dinner with the Shannons. Deborah hadn't been invited, but she wasn't offended. The person who had asked Skye for dinner was Josh, and he rarely thought of more people than was absolutely necessary.

Lucas was lying on his back with his head resting on his arms. He glanced over at her as she walked in. Wow. Three visitors in one day - if you counted the one that had tried to assassinate him just after midnight. Deborah came further into his field of vision and held up the blanket. Lucas snorted.

"Planning on sleeping over, Deborah?"

She shot a long-suffering smile at him.

"You brought me a blanket, remember? Thought I'd return the favour."

She laid it on the end of his cot and stepped back, rubbing her hands on her arms to try and warm herself. Lucas sat up, picked up the blanket and held it out to her.

"Looks like you need it more than I do."

Deb smiled at him and shook her head.

"I'll be fine."

He leaned against the wall and watched her in silence. Deborah hesitated for a few moments and, unable to think of anything else to say, decided to leave.

"Well, I just came by to drop off the blanket."

Lucas nodded, but still said nothing. When she neared the door, he finally spoke.

"He tried to kill me this morning, you know. My father."

Deb turned around in surprise, her face taking on a worried frown.

"Commander Taylor? Are you sure?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Figures you wouldn't believe me. You people and your unfailing love for him."

"Lucas, you may be many things, but in my experience, you're not a liar. That just doesn't sound like the Commander Taylor I know."

Deborah spoke as gently as she could, but Lucas was already on the defensive.

"You don't know him like I do. You didn't see him after my mother's- .. death."

Deborah sat down on the base of one of the pillars.

"Explain it to me then. Tell me what happened."

Lucas studied her curiously. Was someone actually interested in his side of the story for once? He laughed sarcastically.

"Which time?"

Deborah smiled her encouragement.

"Whatever you like."

Lucas sat and thought for a moment. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly. Finally, he began.

"After we returned home .. after the death of my mother, he spent most of his time drinking. In his study." He explained. "I hated that room. Big and dark and musty. I hated the pictures on the walls. I hated the animal heads. Gentle, defenceless animals. They had almost died out and he hung them there like .. like trophies." Lucas curled his lip in abhorrence. "Like they were something to be proud of. He tried to send me to military school. Tried to get rid of me as well, but I refused to go, so he just ignored me. It had cost so much to keep me, and yet he pretended I didn't exist. He wished I'd died instead of her. It didn't take long before I wished I had, too."

Lucas shook his head and paused. Deborah watched him sadly.

"You don't have to-"

"No." Lucas locked eyes with her suddenly. "I want to. I have to."

Deborah nodded and he continued.

"I spent most of my time reading in my room. I could hear him sometimes - yelling. Breaking things. I wondered who he was talking to. Once, I snuck out and opened the door of his study. He was leaning on his desk, muttering to himself. Then he turned and looked right at me. His eyes .." Lucas and Deborah both shivered at the same time - Lucas at the memory, and Deborah because it was cold in the brig. She hugged her jacket tighter to her as he kept going. ".. I remember being frozen. Unable to move, to talk. As he walked over to me, I was sure he was going to kill me. It was a relief when he shut the door in my face. I returned to my room. It was my only safe place. I slept with the door locked. Didn't leave the house. Barely saw anyone. After a few years, he was gone. Disappeared one night. Eventually, I found out he had left for Terra Nova. Like no place on earth was far enough away from me, he had to travel to an alternate dimension." He laughed bitterly. "From that moment on, I was obsessed. I learned everything I could about it. I submitted theories about the fractures and read all the scientific papers. Soon, I began to see pictures of him. Articles praising his bravery." Lucas turned to Deborah with raised eyebrows. "Is it really bravery when you don't care whether you live or die? But he looked so satisfied with himself. He looked .. happy." He slammed his fist down on the edge of the cot. "I didn't understand why he got to be happy while I was left trapped in a world of people that I couldn't care less about. Finally, a government official contacted me. He had read my theoretical papers and wanted me to come work for them. He was going to send me to Terra Nova. Said my father had also requested it. That he was .. waiting for me." He paused again with a discontented frown and Deborah picked the story up.

"And in return, you would work on the Portal Terminus for them."

Lucas nodded.

"When my father found out, he was furious of course, but by that stage, it didn't matter. Terra Nova was his redemption. The home he had made for himself without me. My only wish was to destroy it all. And my employers gave me that opportunity."

He finished and watched her with a rough laugh.

"And here we are."

Deborah stared at the concrete floor of the brig and shook her head. The death of this woman had ruined both father and son. If only they had been able to see the pain the other was feeling. If only they could've grieved together. They were so alike .. too alike. She smiled to herself. Whatever she had to say on that account probably wouldn't be appreciated by Lucas. Deb looked up at him.

"What was she like, your mother?"

An unusual expression of gentleness entered Lucas' face. He smiled to himself.

"Well, she was .." He laughed. "She was always cold. We used to tease her about it. But she was so good-natured. She'd always laugh it off. Never got upset. I never saw her angry. She used to make up the most horrible jokes." Lucas grinned at the memory. "She'd tell them to me in the compound when Dad was away and we could hear the firefight in the distance. Somehow, as terrible as they were, they always made us both feel better." A cloud came over his face. "She never would've hurt anyone."

"I wish I could've known her."

Lucas' face suddenly fell and he stared at her gravely.

"You're wasting your time, you know. Trying to 'save my soul'." He smiled resentfully.

"I'm too far gone."

"Very few people are ever too far gone .. and I don't believe you're one of them."

Lucas seemed to shut her out then, and after a few attempts at conversation, Deborah gave up. He had obviously had enough for one night. With another shiver of cold - evidently the temperature had dropped again. He would be glad of that blanket, whether he acknowledged it or not - she stood up.

"Well, I'll let you get some sleep. Goodnight."

He didn't reply, didn't even look at her, but as she reached the door, he suddenly spoke.

"Deb .. on your next visit, you might want to rug up a little better."

She turned and smiled warmly at him.

"On my next visit, I'll make sure of it."

* * *

As Deborah rounded the dark corner behind her house, she was greeted by the cold glare of Nathaniel Taylor standing on her back porch, arms folded.

"You two have a nice chat?"

Deborah gasped and put her hand on her chest.

"Oh! Nathaniel. What are you doing?!"

Taylor shook his head and let out a disappointed sigh before reaching for his pistol.

"The funny part is, I never would've suspected you. But now I'm going to have to kill you."

Deborah took a small step back as he aimed the pistol at her. He groaned and cocked the gun with a grieved expression.

"Oh, Deborah. We've known each other for years. You and Alex were my friends, I looked after Skye following your .. " He trailed off and laughed caustically, shaking his head. "But then, you never were dead, were you? And now you're going behind my back again, conspiring with the enemy, just like your daughter. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all, does it, Deborah?"

Deborah watched him calmly and raised her chin a little, giving him a scathing look.

"No, Nathaniel, I guess it doesn't."

Taylor hesitated for a moment under her unyielding gaze before steadying himself with a sudden resolve.

"I never wanted it this way, Deborah, but you leave me no choice. I hope you know I mean it sincerely when I say 'rest in peace'."

"What-NO!" Skye, having just arrived home, had come outside looking for her mother and stumbled upon the tense scene.

"Skye, STAY THERE." Deborah began saying, but Skye was already directly in front of Commander Taylor's gun.

"Skye, get out of the way .." Taylor had the pistol pointed straight at Skye's forehead. "I don't want to have to shoot you too. Don't make me shoot you."

Skye raised her arms, but didn't move. They stared stubbornly at one another.

"What did she do that was so horrible?!"

Taylor studied her. Did she really not know? She was probably in on the whole thing, but he'd give her the benefit of the doubt. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could utter a syllable, Deborah spoke up.

"I've been going to see Lucas, Skye."

Skye turned around to face her mother in disbelief.

"What? Why?!"

"I was hoping I could get him to leave you alone."

Skye stared at her for a moment before releasing a small choke of laughter.

"Mom .. I went to see him this morning."

Deborah stared at her daughter in confusion.

"You visited him?"

Skye bit her lip and nodded.

"I had to. I had to face him."

Deborah shook her head with a faintly hysterical laugh of her own as Taylor rolled his eyes.

"This is ridiculous. I'm out of patience." He shoved Skye to the side and raised the pistol to Deborah's face.

"NO! STOP! Taylor, please! STOP!"

Skye flew at him in an attempt to throw his arm off target and Deborah followed suit. Skye was thrown roughly down onto the gravel. Her mother received a nasty blow to the head and lay there motionless. Skye crawled over to Deborah and started shaking her gently.

"Mom? Mom?!"

She turned and looked up at Taylor with tears streaming down her face.

"What is wrong with you?! What have you done?!"

Taylor shook his head, looking almost as distraught as she did.

"I'm sorry, Skye. It's the only way .."

As he re-aimed yet again, two members of his security team came around the corner of the house with an anxious neighbour in tow.

They had been having dinner with the little old lady a few houses up. After offering her a ride home from the markets in their Rover, she had insisted they stay and eat with her. It was "her way of saying thank you". She had been recruited for Terra Nova by lottery and had arrived a few years back with her daughter, who had gotten married not long afterwards. As a result, Francis now lived alone, and was as delighted with the boys' company as they were at the prospect of having a decent meal for once. They had just been about to have dessert when they heard Skye's yell, and had run to see what the matter was, with Francis close behind.

Dunham and Curran quickly assessed the situation.

"What's going on, Commander?"

"Butt out, Curran. This is none of your business." Taylor gave Curran a warning look. The soldier had been accepted back onto the security team because of his valuable knowledge of the Sixers, but he was still on strict probation. He hesitated. Commander Taylor had been very merciful to him of late. He didn't want to push his luck.

Dunham, however, had no such qualms.

"Commander Taylor, why are you pointing a pistol at a couple of unarmed civilians?!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 **

Deborah stirred a little as Skye stroked her head.

"Mom? Are you alright?"

At the sound of her daughter's shaky voice, Deborah opened her eyes.

"I'm fine, sweetie." She patted Skye's arm and smiled weakly at her. "I'm fine."

"ComMANDER?!" Dunham was seriously concerned. "What's going on?!"

"She's a spy. She's been working with Lucas. She needs to be executed."

He took a step toward Deborah.

"What?! No, no, wait!" The two soldiers stepped forward as Skye threw herself in front of her mother once more. Curran tapped Dunham's shoulder and gave him a look. Dunham nodded and pulled out his handheld radio.

"Mr. Shannon, we have a situation at the Tates' house. Over."

Taylor swung the gun around to point at Dunham. Curran drew his own pistol and pointed it at Taylor, stepping in front of his friend.

"What, are you going to kill your own men now?"

Taylor laughed sharply.

"Should've killed you."

Dunham had frozen, staring at his commanding officer in horror, but Jim's voice on the other end startled him out of his shocked state.

"Dunham? What sort of situation? I'm on my way. Over."

Curran looked over his shoulder at him.

"Answer him. I'll cover you."

As Dunham responded to the business-like voice on the receiver, Taylor shook his head, still holding his pistol firmly toward Curran.

"You'd go against your commanding officer. You wouldn't even _be here_ if it wasn't for me." He snarled. "Once a traitor, always a traitor."

Curran and Skye both flinched guiltily and glanced at each other. They had both gone against Taylor at some point. Sure, directly, Curran's crime was worse, but Skye had indirectly been responsible for the takeover of Terra Nova. Lucas wouldn't have been able to modify the Portal without her help.

Dunham turned to Curran to say Jim was on his way when the Rover pulled up abruptly in front of the Tates' house. Jim and Reilly jumped out and ran around back to survey the waiting group. Francis breathed a massive sigh of relief.

"Thank GOODNESS you're here, Jim."

Jim glanced at her with a slightly awkward smile and turned to Taylor.

"Commander .. put the gun down."

Taylor shook his head dejectedly, but didn't lower the gun. Instead, he turned it back to Deborah.

"Ohh, Jim. Not you too."

Jim showed Taylor his empty hands.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to make sure everyone is safe."

Taylor glared at him.

"Cut the crap, Shannon, I'm not some new-age flake!"

Jim looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered himself.

"Fine, Fine. Just put the gun down. No one has to get hurt."

Nathaniel growled.

"You don't understand." He looked around the little group. "NONE of you do. You've all been deceived."

Dunham began saying something, but Jim put a hand out to shush him.

"Then explain it to me."

Taylor considered this for a moment.

"No. She's the spy. That's all you need to know."

Jim tensed as Nathaniel turned back to Deborah.

"No, wait, we caught the spy, don't you remember? Terra Nova is safe."

Taylor laughed and shook his head.

"You're so gullible, Shannon. So willing to believe the best in people. That's why you'll never make a good leader."

"Maybe not." Jim had started inching towards Taylor, trying to get between him and Skye. "But at least I don't shoot innocent people."

"Innocent?!" Taylor exploded. "LOOK at her, Shannon! Does she LOOK INNOCENT?!"

Jim glanced at Deborah, who didn't really look innocent or guilty. She looked more exhausted than anything. As he drew nearer to them, Taylor turned the pistol on his second-in-command.

"Stop. Right. There."

Jim stopped. Taylor shook his head scornfully.

"You're a good cop, Jim, but a lousy commander."

As Taylor turned back to Deborah with finality, Jim sensed the change in his superior. They were out of time.

"CURRAN, NOW!"

Curran and Taylor shot at the same moment.

Francis' scream rang out as two men fell to the ground.

Through his manoeuvring, Jim had just got close enough to throw himself in front of Skye as Taylor shot at Deborah. The bullet had nestled in his vest - thank goodness Reilly had insisted he put it on - and he rolled over with a groan. His chest hurt like mad, but at least Deborah and Skye were safe. He looked over at Taylor. Dunham had removed the Commander's weapon and Reilly and Curran were standing on either side of him. Taylor's right shoulder was bleeding, but he appeared to be otherwise unhurt. Whatever else Curran was, he was a good shot. The soldiers on either side of Nathaniel were watching Jim questioningly, almost as if they were afraid to lay their hands on the Commander of the colony. Jim sat up with another groan and nodded to them.

"Secure him."

Without another word, Reilly and Curran had each taken hold of one of Taylor's arms as Dunham cuffed him. They moved quickly and deliberately, alert to any small movement or change in situation. They were all aware of what the man they held was capable of.

As Skye walked past, helping her mother inside and out of the cold, Reilly turned to her.

"Hey. After this, tomorrow will be a breeze for you."

With a friendly smile at Reilly and a grateful one at Jim, Skye took Deborah into the house in silence.

Dunham raised his eyebrows at Jim.

"Shall we put him in the brig, sir?"

In the brig. With the son he had tried to murder in the early hours of that morning. Hahaaaaaa .. no. Jim paused. Why did his inner voice sound so much like Malcolm?

"Sir?"

Jim refocused on the young soldier awaiting his instructions.

"I don't see as we have much choice, Dunham. Get whoever is on guard duty to help you tie Lucas to the bed and have Reilly and Curran fix Commander Taylor to one of the pillars. Just - for goodness sake, make sure they're both tied securely."

The members of the security team nodded.

"Yes, sir."

As Jim turned to go, a firm hand gripped his arm. He looked down to see Francis attached to him.

"How will I get home now? I might be attacked in the dark!"

Jim sighed.

"Reilly, take the Rover. I'll meet you at the brig in a few minutes. Elisabeth can see to Taylor."

Reilly nodded and the vehicle drove off. Jim turned to Francis and offered her his arm.

"Shall we?"

* * *

Lucas looked up in astonished delight as Commander Taylor was dragged into the brig. He didn't even notice as the soldiers tied him tightly to the bed. His father was here, imprisoned, in pain, humiliated, FINALLY brought off his pedestal of glory .. but why? He called out to Reilly.

"Sergeant! What did he do?"

She finished securing Taylor's cuffs and turned to Lucas.

"What makes you think he did anything?"

Lucas tilted his head to the side and stared at her with a dull expression.

"I'm a scientist. I'm smart."

Reilly attempted to bite back the laugh that came as a result of that comment, but only half succeeded. She hurriedly turned to Taylor.

Lucas grinned triumphantly at her as Jim and Elisabeth walked in. After Jim had dropped Francis at her house, he had hurried home to pick up his wife. He had explained the situation on the way to the brig. As they entered the room now, Elisabeth immediately made her way over to Nathaniel, who was sitting very still.

"Let's see what we've got here .."

She cut his shirt away from his shoulder, sterilised the wound, removed the bullet, and sewed it up. Throughout the whole process, Nathaniel never uttered a sound. Elisabeth finally stood back and surveyed her work.

"Right. That should heal up nicely. You're lucky it didn't nick your brachial artery, or there would've been a lot more blood. Just, uh, avoid straining your arm, and .. and you should heal up nicely!" She repeated, glancing at Jim helplessly. Jim helped her out.

"Thanks for coming, Elisabeth. I'll see you out."

He looked around at the three members of his security team that were still in the room.

"You guys can go home now. Brady will stay and keep an eye on things. Go have a rest. You've earned it."

After a few "thank you, sir" and "goodnight, sir"s, the brig was vacated. Jim walked up the stairs with Elisabeth.

"I just can't believe it." She was saying. "I mean, I knew he wasn't in the best frame of mind, but trying to hurt Deborah .."

Jim shook his head despondently.

"I should've seen the signs. Something wasn't right. I knew something wasn't right!" He rubbed his sore chest. "The past few months must've affected him more than we thought. Lucas and .. Wash-ow!" They had reached the outside door, and Elisabeth had started removing the ballistic vest.

"I need to have a look, Jim. What if you've cracked a rib or something?"

Jim reluctantly allowed her to take a look, and after a few minutes she proclaimed him well enough to go home. He paused.

"Well, where are you going?"

I'm going to go check on Deborah. I know you said she was up and moving around, but any blow to the head like that can be pretty serious. I won't rest easy until I've seen her. You go home and be with the kids."

She patted his arm reassuringly and shortly after that, they parted ways.

* * *

Lucas' eyes had barely left his father since he had been brought in. Taylor still hadn't said anything; hadn't even acknowledged Lucas' presence. Lucas was already beginning to get tired of the uncomfortable silence. What would it take to get a reaction?

"So, you've finally fallen off your golden throne."

No reply.

"Bet your beloved colonists don't think you're such a god now."

Still nothing.

"What did you have to do for them to throw you in here? Give another of your 'inspirational speeches'?"

His father may as well have been comatose for all the reaction he was getting. Lucas decided to try a different tactic.

"Thrown in your own brig by a city cop and a couple of witless soldiers." He snorted disdainfully. "Some leader you turned out to be."

Nathaniel finally looked at him, his eyes full of rage.

"I have always done what's best for these people. I don't have to justify myself to you."

"Because I'm just your son, right?" Lucas shrugged. "Basically a nobody."

Taylor turned his tired face to the wall.

"You said it."

"No, YOU said it!" Lucas was right on the brink of an out-and-out rage. "Every time you looked at me. EVERY. TIME. I tried to talk to you." He swallowed. "You thought your useless son wasn't good enough because he'd never be like you." He gestured around the brig with a pointed smirk. "Well, I guess we weren't that different after all."

"You're nothing like me."

Taylor muttered it so low Lucas just managed to catch it. He leaned back and nodded.

"Hm. Your current situation would suggest otherwise."

That was the last thing they said to each other that night. If Lucas glanced at his father every now and then, Taylor didn't know it. Truth be told, he didn't care.

* * *

Skye answered the door on the second knock.

"Oh! Dr. Shannon! Come in." She held the door open.

"I'm not disturbing you?"

Skye shook her head with a small smile.

"We were up anyway. After tonight's events, we decided we needed a hot chocolate. Want one?"

Elisabeth followed Skye inside.

"I'd love one, actually. I came to check on your mom. Is she okay?"

Skye pointed as she led the way.

"Right through here."

Deborah was lying on the sofa, but she sat up as they entered the room. Elisabeth watched her closely.

"How are you feeling, Deb?"

"I'll go get that hot chocolate." Skye excused herself and went into the kitchen.

Deborah shook her head.

"I'm fine, Elisabeth. You don't have to worry. It was barely a scratch."

Elisabeth sat on the sofa and eyed her friend suspiciously.

"Jim told me you were knocked unconscious."

Deborah smiled, looking a little guilty.

"Only for a couple of minutes. I've been through worse."

"I'm sure you have, but please let me take a look at you. For my sake. I won't be able to calm down until I have."

Deb laughed a little.

"You're a good friend, Elisabeth." She sighed and submitted her head for inspection. "Very well."

When Skye came in with the hot chocolates a few minutes later, her mother had been given the all-clear. Aside from a nasty bruise on the side of her forehead, Deborah was quite well and would make a full recovery.

After a few quiet minutes of hot chocolate drinking, Skye spoke.

"I can't believe it. What could cause such a good man to turn around and do something like that?"

Elisabeth swallowed her mouthful of drink before answering.

"He's not well, Skye. The past few months have been hard on all of us, but especially Commander Taylor. The pressures of running a colony like this must be immense in normal circumstances, let alone in times of conflict. I think right now Commander Taylor needs what we all need - time."

Skye, in the process of staring into her mug as she swirled the liquid around, simply nodded. Deborah watched her daughter for a moment and glanced worriedly at Elisabeth. Elisabeth accompanied her sympathetic smile with a small shrug. Skye suddenly spoke again.

"Will he ever get better?"

Elisabeth shrugged more obviously this time.

"I don't know, sweetie. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

"Have they managed to fix it yet?"

"Not yet, but they're working on it."

"Work faster."

"Yes, sir."

As his subordinate left the room, the large man turned his chair to face the window. It was 10:00 am, not that you could tell. Things had gotten much worse since last month's explosion. The destruction of Hope Plaza had caused massive amounts of dangerous chemical waste to be thrown into the atmosphere. It had already been difficult to tell the difference between the changes in weather or time of day. Now, it was barely possible to distinguish day from night, at least this close to the ruins of Hope Plaza. With the explosion of the particle accelerator happening so close to where he lived and worked, the smart thing to do would've been to pack up and leave. Instead, he bought a more expensive rebreather.

As he caught a glimpse of the occasional flash of light that shot out of the building that was rapidly being assembled over the blackened grave of the old Hope Plaza, the Governor laughed. If only the particle accelerator explosion had turned him into the Flash. He could've made his own way to Terra Nova. Alas, he didn't believe in fairytales. He could hold out a little while longer. They had the best engineers and scientists in the world working on it. New Hope Plaza would be finished soon enough.

He broke out into a spasm of painful coughing then, and had only just managed to soothe his respiratory system when a knock came at the door and his man's head peered in again.

"Your newest associate is here to see you, sir."

"Send him in."

Not two seconds later, a tall, middle-aged man walked into the room. After the initial greetings, he was instructed to take a seat at the massive table in the centre of the room. The man at the window came and stood at the head of the table.

"I've brought you here to explain a few things to you. But before we begin, I want you to do something for me. You said you wanted answers. I want reassurance."

The slightly younger man nodded with a look of comprehension.

"I understand. I have all the necessary documentation. I just have to transfer the funds."

He was promptly handed a transparent device.

"Go to it then."

Once this formality was completed, the men shook hands with a smile.

"Pleased to have you on board, Commander."

The heavy door suddenly groaned as it was swung open again, and a group of severe-looking people entered the room.

"Ah, there you are." The Governor gestured to the table. "Please, everyone. Sit down."

After a few seconds, the table was enclosed by the seated members. The original guest looked around cautiously as he was introduced.

"Warmest welcomes to the newest member of our small circle, whose funds are being put to use rebuilding our doorway into the past as we speak."

A stiff round of applause followed.

"I thought you should all be here for this auspicious occasion."

The Governor leaned on the table and began.

"Several years ago, a number of the country's leading scientists discovered a rip in the fabric of space and time. This much you already know. What you don't know, is how it came to be exploited. When we realised what we had been presented with, we were overjoyed." The man paused, looking anything but overjoyed. "A whole new world in the palm of our hands - different, and yet the same. Unaffected by the arrogance and greed of ordinary people, and yet, full of dangers and difficulties all its own. We decided that since our world was falling apart, we'd try to send a group of people back to prepare the new world for us - test it out, research it, overcome its challenges, set up a colony, so that when we, the government, eventually abandoned this old Earth, we would have something to come home to." He halted for a moment, studying the expression on his newest member's face. Satisfied, he proceeded. "As we were searching for someone to lead this perilous expedition, Commander Nathaniel Taylor came forward. The perfect face for the project - steadfast, honourable, upright - a soldier to the last. Unfortunately, he turned into rather a nuisance. We sent General Philbrick a few years ago to remove Taylor and prepare the colony for our arrival. We already had a man on the inside - Dr. Taylor, the Commander's son. Unfortunately, Philbrick failed, Taylor remained, and our journey was delayed indefinitely. We decided to change tactics a little and instructed our own people to begin mining up all the meteoric ore they could get their hands on. Mira had three objectives - provide Lucas Taylor with a certain highly-advanced technological device - the means to further his research, keep careful watch of the inner workings of the colony and report Taylor's actions back to us, and take over the quarry, storing up large amounts of meteoric ore. They began gleaning the area near the colony for the ore for two purposes - one, once Dr. Taylor paved the way for us and we got our hands on it here, in the 22nd century, it would be worth a mint. We could sell it, buy up anything worth buying, in preparation to take all of our possessions and families to Terra Nova and start again there. Our second purpose was to use it to power a new particle accelerator we have had our people working on - a new accelerator that was bigger, faster, and so much more powerful that it was able to keep the Portal open much longer than previously possible. This new accelerator will be able to hold the breach open for a whole 12 hours, long enough for us to transport everything we need over to the past before setting off a massive explosion and destroying the time fracture for good, sealing all of Earth's citizens in and condemning them to their fate on this dying planet. We figured there was so much untapped meteoric ore in the new planet, no one would miss a few tonnes, and we could fill in the bare earth left behind after the mining process and build our new civilisation right on top of it."

He curled his lip.

"Unfortunately, thanks to Taylor and his colonists, our plans were again postponed indefinitely. All the meteoric ore that made it through is being saved to rebuild Hope Plaza, and with it, the new particle accelerator."

A few of the group members nodded approvingly.

"Once that's complete, we'll be able to proceed with our original mission, and judging by the information I received this morning from one of my sources .." The Governor looked over toward Hope Plaza and smiled in satisfaction. ".. Taylor won't be a problem this time around."

* * *

".. Seven .. Eight .. Is that all you can do, Tate?! MOVE IT."

An exhausted Skye glanced at Reilly. The young Sergeant was revealing nothing, but Skye was sure she was enjoying herself. They had been at it all morning. She felt like her lungs were going to burst! Skye stopped and leaned her hands on her knees, shaking her head weakly.

"I can't .. I can't .. I'm sorry." She panted for air as Reilly finally stopped her shouting. Of all things she had imagined the fitness test involving, this was worse. She had jumped, run, crawled, pulled and pushed herself through a wide variety of obstacles until she was half dead. Guess this was the end of the line. Presently, a firm pat on the back shook Skye out of her gloomy thoughts. She looked up to see Reilly grinning down at her.

"Congratulations, Tate. You passed."

Skye stood up shakily and blinked at her in astonishment.

"I did?!"

Reilly nodded.

"Flying colours. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably go report in to Mr. Shannon, and _you_ .." She walked a few meters away to fetch something out of a nearby Rover - the same Rover she'd had Skye pushing around an hour or so ago. ".. you should go get some rest. Seriously, you look awful."

Reilly handed Skye a box.

"Your new uniform, recruit."

Skye frowned at Reilly as she accepted the box.

"You already had it?"

Reilly grinned and waved her hand.

"Oh yeah. This was just a formality." She burst out laughing at Skye's incredulous expression.

"It was necessary, I swear! Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

Skye leaned her head back against the seat as they drove back to her house. She'd made it! Now all she wanted to do was sleep. As if reading her thoughts, Reilly glanced at her and commented,

"I know how tired you are - you probably hurt everywhere, but if I were you, I'd make my first stop the shower."

Skye laughed as she looked down at her sweat-drenched clothes.

"Right."

* * *

Deborah peered around the corner as Skye walked into the house.

"Hello, Bucket, did you have a nice - what happened to you?!"

Skye had initially jumped, but now came around the corner tentatively.

"I've been with Sergeant Reilly. Doing a fitness test."

Deborah's brows knotted.

"But why?"

Skye bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"I'm .. joining the security team. On a trial basis." She took hold of Deborah's hand as her mother looked away in distress. "Mom, don't! I'm just trying it out. All of my friends are starting their careers and .." She smiled comfortingly at her mother, suddenly feeling at peace about her decision. "This is what I want to do."

Deborah gave her daughter a watery smile and put her hand on Skye's sweaty cheek.

"Then I won't stand in your way." She took a shaky breath and cleared her throat. "Now I say we go to Boylan's to celebrate. You look like you could use a good meal."

Skye nodded gratefully.

"I am starving. Sergeant Reilly sure knows how to push people. I think she was enjoying it!"

Deborah laughed.

"I'm sure she was! And was she happy with your efforts?" A stab of anxiety suddenly hit Deb's stomach. What if they decided her daughter wasn't cut out to be a soldier after all? She would be devastated. But Skye smiled.

"She was. And she gave me my uniform, though I haven't tried it on yet. It's in a box on my bed."

"Well, quickly, go for a shower and then you can try it on and show me what it looks like!" Deborah said excitedly.

Skye laughed and gave in, but after her daughter left the room, Deborah's face fell. Colony security was a tough and dangerous job, though the past few months had proved to her that Skye was up to the challenge. She would be happy for her daughter. She would be. Still, as Deborah turned to organise the kitchen in preparation to go out, she did so with a heavy heart, and a few more minutes would see her leaning on the kitchen counter, head in hands as she attempted to hold back her sobs.

* * *

Regardless of the state Deborah had been in twenty minutes ago, she had fully recovered and was ready to go when Skye got out. Had you seen her face, you never would've guessed she had been anything but thrilled for her daughter. Skye took a deep breath and turned to face the mirror. The grey-green shirt and long camouflage pants fit perfectly. Evidently someone had made a good guess. She presented herself to her mother.

"What do you think?"

Deborah smiled proudly.

"It suits you. Now, my little soldier, shall we go?"

After grabbing their jackets, they left the house and headed for the Bar.

Being mid-afternoon, Boylan's was not too busy. The majority of the people usually came for a drink after the work day was finished. As they sat down at a table to wait for their meals, Skye and her mother both began to take on a worried expression. Glancing at each other, they started to speak at the same time. Laughing, Deborah gestured to Skye.

"After you."

Skye looked serious.

"Are you sure this isn't too much for you .. you know, after last night and everything?"

Her mother shook her head.

"No! This is nice. It's been too long since we went out together."

At that moment, Boylan arrived at the table and placed the plates down in front of them.

"Compliments of the chef."

He glanced at Skye.

"Ahh. Joining Shannon's security, are we?"

Skye nodded.

"Yep!"

Boylan looked as though he wanted to stay and chat, but as he opened his mouth to reply, a customer called him back to the bar.

"Ah. A barman's work is never done."

As he returned to his other customers, Deborah watched Skye with a smile.

"Your father would be so proud of you."

As Skye smiled back at her, Deborah's expression turned to worry.

"But Skye, you know your father would be proud of you anyway, don't you? Regardless of whether you followed in his footsteps or not."

Skye nodded quietly.

"I know."

"There was .. one other thing."

Skye raised her eyebrows as her mother continued.

"I think we need to have a little chat .. about Lucas."

Skye stared at her with a dry smile.

"We do, don't we?"

"I don't want you going to see him anymore."

Deborah took a sip of her drink as her daughter frowned.

"Why not?"

"He's not the sort of person I want you being around. He's dangerous and manipulative. I don't trust him with you."

Skye nodded slowly and looked her mother in the eye.

"That means you're not gonna see him any more either, right?"

Skye's face twisted into a smile as Deborah hesitated.

"Look, Mom, I know you two have some weird connection thing going on. If you really think you can help him, I can't stop you going." She clapped her hands together on the table in front of her. "But I have to keep going to see him. He'll only give his information to me, and crazy as he is, what he tells us could really help the colony."

Deborah watched her daughter with a frown for a moment before breaking into a soft laugh.

"When did you become such a persuasive young lady? .. alright. Then I would only ask that you only go to see him when there's a guard around, and _please_ .. Be. Careful. Please."

Skye smiled.

"Back atcha."

Just then, the sound of a distant roar startled them. The entire Bar went silent. After a few moments, the lady at the table next to Skye and Deborah leaned over to them.

"What _was_ that?!"

Skye shook her head.

"I don't know. I didn't recognise it. But whatever it was, it did not sound happy."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

After Deborah and Skye finished their meal with no further events, Skye parted ways with her mother and headed over to the brig. Lucas was of no concern to her at the moment, but she had convinced Deborah that she had to see Taylor. Deborah hadn't been happy about it, but Skye had left her little choice. She was determined. The man had been like a father to her for years and now he had tried to kill her mother. She had to have answers. Deborah understood, and with an additional warning for Skye to be careful, she headed home to wait for her daughter.

As Skye made her way down the stairs and approached the guard at the brig door, she heard agitated voices coming from within.

"Alright then, I'll say it - I disown you."

"You can't disown me! We both know you did that years ago."

"You're wrong, son - as usual."

"You called me son. I thought you disowned me."

"Bah!"

Skye stared at Guzman in bewilderment.

"What's going on in there?!"

Guzman laughed and shook his head.

"They've been bickering like that all afternoon. If only we could get a counsellor in there with them, they might work some things out!"

Skye tilted her head and smiled at him.

"You volunteering?"

Guzman looked like he'd rather be shot.

"No fear. You going in there?"

Skye nodded.

"Brave kid."

As she entered the brig, the heated discussion came to an abrupt halt.

Lucas stared at her.

"New clothes? Joining Shannon's forces, are we?" He made a point of looking at his father as he said the last part.

"I'm trying it out, yes."

Lucas nodded and watched her thoughtfully.

"Guess that means we're officially on different sides now."

Skye stared expressionlessly at him.

"We were always on different sides."

"Fair point." Lucas rearranged himself, trying to find a comfortable position with his wrists still tied to the cot. "Look, I'm not really in the mood to chat today, Bu- .. Skye." He corrected himself.

Skye blinked at him calmly.

"That's fine. I'm not here to talk to you."

She turned to Taylor, who couldn't seem to look her in the eye. Skye took a few steps forward until she was standing in front of him.

"Look at me."

Nathaniel slowly lifted his head to look up at her. Skye shook her head disappointedly.

"What happened to you?"

Taylor shook his head.

"Skye, you don't understand. It was my mess, my mistake. I had to be the one to clean it up."

Lucas stared at them silently as Skye took a shaky breath.

"But killing _my mother_. In cold blood .. !?"

Taylor smiled.

"You're not a soldier; I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"But you do understand, don't you, dear sister .. ?"

Lucas' words held a barb that Skye was sharp enough to catch. She turned to glare at him.

"I didn't kill you in cold blood."

Lucas shrugged.

"Felt pretty cold to me."

Skye ignored him and turned back to Taylor.

"I trusted you. You were like a father to me." She clenched her fists in anger as he stared at her unrepentantly. "I just want to understand why you did it."

"Because it was necessary."

"Is that it? Is that all you're going to give me? 'Because it was necessary'?"

Taylor turned away from her.

"It was necessary. That's the end of it."

Lucas couldn't help butting in at that moment.

"You see what I have to put up with?!"

Skye hurriedly blinked away the frustrated tears that threatened to come as she turned back to Lucas, shaking her head.

"Honestly, I think you're both as bad as each other." She snapped.

Lucas scoffed.

"I disagree."

"That's fine. You may not be allowed to do much in here, but you're allowed to have an opinion."

Lucas shot her a disapproving, yet vaguely impressed look.

"That's harsh."

Skye turned back to Taylor.

"If I can't understand your motivation, I can't be on your side. Please!" She knelt and took hold of his arm. "Talk to me. If you don't, I'll never be able to trust you again."

Taylor refused to look at her.

"So be it."

Skye stood up slowly, attempting to hold herself together. Unable to speak, she turned and made her way toward the door. As she passed Lucas on the way out, he caught a glimpse of the glistening tears as they began to fall down her cheeks. He called out to her as she opened the door.

"Skye-"

As the door was forcefully shut, Lucas turned to his father, shaking his head scornfully with a bitter smile.

"Good job, Dad."

* * *

Elisabeth walked through the front door into the house with a sigh. Why did everyone always seem to get pregnant at the same time? She walked into the kitchen to see her husband sitting at the table with his head on his arms.

"Jim? Are you alright?"

Jim's head shot up with a confused expression.

"Hmm?"

Elisabeth laughed and, after kissing him on the head, sat down opposite him.

"And why, may I ask, were you sleeping on the table?"

Jim rubbed his eyes with a yawn.

"I wasn't sleeping."

His wife snorted indignantly.

"I BEG to differ. I'm a doctor - I know what sleeping looks like."

Jim shook his head.

"What am I gonna do, Elisabeth? Taylor's in the brig, I don't know if it's safe to let him out, the colonists are soon going to wonder where he is and what's going on, and what am I gonna tell them?! 'Oh, sorry. I've arrested your commander and he's being held for attempted murder in the brig'?!"

Elisabeth nodded with a frown.

"I see the problem. Well, do you think it's safe to let him out?"

"Goodness, NO." Jim exclaimed with more emphasis than he expected, somewhat startling Elisabeth. ".. sorry. But if you'd have seen him last night .. seen his eyes. He _believed_ he was doing the right thing, Elisabeth. He would've gone through with it, and Skye would've been orphaned - for real, this time."

Elisabeth took a deep breath.

"Then no matter who pressures you to do it, you can't let him out."

Jim nodded, looking depressed. Elisabeth continued.

"Jim .. have you thought of sending the counsellor in to see him? I think it might be beneficial."

Jim frowned.

"I wasn't even aware the colony had a counsellor."

Elisabeth laughed at him.

"Jim! Her name is Monica Karlpring. She came on the second pilgrimage at the request of Taylor himself! He didn't see the need for a counsellor, but he also didn't want to keep hearing about the colonist's tiny problems."

Jim snorted.

"Sounds like Taylor .. but how did you even know all this?"

"I've had several patients - no, more than several, actually - that come in complaining of sickness when the real problem is something medicine can't fix. Mental illness is something that can't be escaped, unfortunately." She smiled. "Even in the Cretaceous."

Jim nodded thoughtfully.

"I'll get her in then. Have her talk to Taylor - to both of them! Thanks, Elisabeth. In the meantime, what will I tell the colonists?"

Elisabeth shrugged.

"Tell them he went away again on one of his trips and he left you a note?"

Jim laughed in pretend shock.

"And LIE to the colonists?!"

His wife gave him a sheepish smile.

"Yes, I suppose someone would find out eventually, wouldn't they? Then we'd have real problems."

"You wouldn't call these 'real problems'?" Jim raised an eyebrow at her. Elisabeth put a hand on his arm.

"Jim, these may not be the best of circumstances, but the people have you. They know you, they trust you. Things could be better, for sure, but they're far from the worst. I believe in you. The kids believe in you - yes, even Josh." at his suspicious look "You've been managing the colony without much assistance from Taylor for several weeks. You'll be just fine."

Jim nodded, with a sigh of resignation.

"Thanks, Liz."

Elisabeth returned his nod, giving him an affectionate smile.

"My pleasure. Now what's for dinner?"

* * *

The next day, Jim and Monica arrived at the brig together.

"They're right in there."

Jim took a nervous breath, but Monica simply looked at him and smiled.

"No need for anxiety, love. I've done this plenty of times - though not in the brig." She looked around the dim hallway as Jim stifled a laugh. She was barely older than him, and she was calling him 'love'. He would come to realise very quickly that young or old, large or tiny, male or female, human or otherwise, Monica was in the habit of calling just about everyone 'love'. He opened the door.

"Shall we?"

As Monica walked in, the two inmates glanced up at her - Lucas with curiosity, Nathaniel with a dull expression.

"This is Monica." Jim explained. "She's come to talk to you for a little while."

Lucas laughed.

"You actually did it. I was wondering how long it would take. Tell me, Monica, how will you relieve our internal suffering today?"

Monica smiled at him.

"For you, Lucas, I think we'll be here a lot longer than a day."

Lucas grinned before turning to Jim.

"Shannon, can't you tie me up to something else? I'm getting stiff."

Jim shook his head.

"Sorry, Lucas. Your poor old bones will just have to bear it."

Lucas gave him a faint eye roll.

"Thanks very much."

Jim beamed.

"You are so welcome!" He tapped Monica on the shoulder. "Hey, if you need anything, I'll be right out there."

She smiled at him gratefully.

"Thanks, love. Nowwww .." as Jim left the room ".. which one of you boys wants to talk to me first?"

No reply from either of them, so she set up the folding chair she had brought with her and sat down near Lucas, who watched her cautiously.

"What about you, love?"

Lucas shook his head serenely.

"Sorry, Doc. I only talk to certain people, and you're not one of them."

Monica eyed him thoughtfully.

"So you're refusing to talk to me?"

Lucas nodded.

"Yep."

Monica nodded as well, as a small smile began to appear on her face.

"And how does that make you _feel?_ Bahaha!" She burst out laughing loudly, startling Taylor, and making the two men outside the door glance at each other with a raised eyebrow. Lucas couldn't resist a smile, but said nothing. Monica calmed down almost instantly and nodded again.

"Very well."

She slid her chair over to Nathaniel and sat down again.

"I hear you've had a rough few days, love."

Taylor stared at the ground.

"I guess you could say that."

"What happened?"

He looked up at her.

"You already know that, or you wouldn't be here."

Monica pointed at him with a smile.

"I suppose that's why you're the Commander."

Lucas leaned his head back and rolled his eyes, letting out a small sigh. No one noticed him, however, because at the same time, Taylor spoke bitterly.

"WAS the Commander. Until Shannon locked me up in here."

"Are you angry with Jim Shannon for doing this to you?"

Nathaniel paused.

"No, he was just doing his job." He released a rough laugh. "I would've done the same thing."

Monica caught the underlying resentment in his tone, but let it slip by.

"What do you think is going to happen now?"

Nathaniel reached up his hand to scratch his beard.

"Well, I suppose we're both just gonna sit here and rot."

"How do you feel about being in here with your son?"

Lucas looked over at this question, his curiosity getting the better of him. Nathaniel stared at the counsellor for a moment before answering.

"He's not my son."

Lucas let out a silent dry laugh and resumed his previous position, still listening to the conversation, but staring at the roof.

"Because he betrayed you?"

Nathaniel curled his lip and gazed intensely at her.

"Lady, at this point, who hasn't betrayed me?"

"Have you ever considered the fact that they might feel like you betrayed them?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows at the roof.

"I have always done what was necessary for the good of the colony. If they didn't understand that, they obviously weren't contributing to that good."

Monica frowned, looking a little worried for the first time.

"That sounds more like a dictatorship."

"Well, sometimes having one person make the decisions is a lot less messy."

"But no one person can make the right decisions all the time. Even the best people need help, love."

Nathaniel sneered at her.

"You don't think I can do the job either, do you? You're just like all the rest."

Monica began to shake her head, but Taylor was done.

"Get out."

"But-"

"GET. Out."

"Very well. I'll be back tomorrow."

Monica ignored the following "Don't bother.", picked up her chair and headed for the door. As she reached it, she turned.

"Lucas, if you ever want to see me, love, let me know. I'm here for you as well."

Lucas smiled at her, but shook his head slowly. Monica shrugged and left the room.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 **

"He's a hard nut to crack."

"Commander Taylor? He's tough alright."

"Actually, I was talking about Lucas."

Jim and Monica were standing outside the brig, discussing the first session as Skye appeared.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt, Mr. Shannon." She glanced awkwardly at the counsellor. "I'm here to talk to Lucas."

Monica smiled at her.

"Hello, Skye."

After the apparent deaths of her parents, Skye had been sent to talk to Monica for a while. Several sessions later, Skye had requested the sessions be dropped, and Monica had reluctantly released her. Now, however, she shook her head.

"I'm afraid you may be wasting your time with that one, love. He's not much of a talker."

Jim and Skye exchanged a quiet smile.

"Don't worry about Skye. She has a way with him."

Monica turned to Skye with raised eyebrows.

"Does she indeed?"

Skye smiled uncomfortably again, willing herself not to show her embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed a little as she turned to Jim.

"Can I go in now, Mr. Shannon?"

Jim shrugged and opened the door.

"Go for your life."

As Monica turned to Jim inquisitively, Skye walked into the brig, tapping her Plex on her hand. She had decided to bring it this time to take notes, just in case Lucas felt like telling her something she had no chance of remembering. He looked up as she entered the room, laughing almost nervously as he recognised her.

"Oh. Skye."

She frowned a little in confusion at the look on his face, but sat down on the base of the pillar her mother had used as a chair a couple of days ago. Lucas watched her.

"You decided to take notes this time."

Skye turned on the Plex and looked at him.

"I figured if this was going to be a regular event, I may as well not rely on my memory."

"Good plan."

Silence for a few moments, as Skye set up, and then she looked up at Lucas with a questioning frown.

"A couple of days ago, you mentioned Mira's employers. I thought you and the Sixers worked for the same people."

Lucas glanced at his father as Nathaniel looked up at them, glaring curiously. Lucas hesitated, turning back to Skye, who raised her eyebrows.

"Do you want to talk to me or not?"

Lucas reluctantly shook his head.

"I can't. Not with him here."

Skye glanced at Taylor with knotted brows.

"What do you want them to do, take him for a walk?" When Lucas failed to offer any sort of reply, she looked back at him. "He's staying here, Lucas. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Then I'm sorry." Lucas sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I can't tell you anything while he's in the same room."

"Why?" Skye was beginning to get annoyed. "Why does it make a difference whether he's here or not? Chances are, he's gonna hear it eventually anyway."

"It's the principle of the thing."

Skye snorted.

"I didn't think you had any principles."

"I have a few." Lucas shifted in discomfort. "And this is one of them. Sorry."

After a few more minutes of attempting to get him to talk, Skye gave up in frustration. As she exited the brig, Jim studied the expression on her face.

"Oh no. What did he do this time?"

Skye ran her hand through her hair in exasperation.

"He refuses to talk to me while Taylor is in there. He won't say a word about anything!"

Jim stood thoughtfully for a moment before tapping Skye on the shoulder.

"Looks like it's time then. Come with me."

* * *

After failing to find Malcolm in the lab, Jim and Skye were directed to a small, newly-built house around the back of the colony. It was a nice-enough place, set an unusual distance from the other houses. As Skye looked at Jim curiously, he went to the door and knocked. A few moments later, the door was swung open and Malcolm peered out excitedly.

"It works! HaHAA!"

Jim peered at his strange, bug-eyed goggles and tried very hard not to laugh. Malcolm didn't notice, instead gesturing inside the house.

"Come in, come in, come in!"

As Skye and Jim walked in, they stared around them questioningly. It looked like the most ordinary house in existence. A small table, a couple of chairs, a kitchen, a lounge chair or two, and what looked to be a couple of rooms leading out from the main part of the house. Malcolm's voice echoed across to them from another room.

"Just let me turn it on!"

Skye and Jim glanced at each other in amusement. A faint buzzing sound started up as Malcolm appeared again, this time without his goggles. Jim couldn't help himself.

"What, no goggles this time? I was sort of attached to them."

Malcolm was so focused on something in the corner that he didn't even notice Jim's sarcasm.

"Nope, I only needed them to see the field .." He trailed off and Skye glanced at Jim with a raised eyebrow. A loud zap came from Malcolm's direction and they turned back to the scientist just in time to see him jump violently.

"It works! Hahaa, it's working! Yes!"

Malcolm threw his arms above his head in triumph and finally came to stand in front of them. Would you like to see how it works?"

"Please."

Malcolm smiled and grabbed a long set of pincers off the kitchen counter. In the grasp at the end of the pincers was a circular object.

_"Now."_ Malcolm walked toward the doorway. "Get away from the door, and watch carefully."

He extended the pincers out the open door. As the object on the end reached the threshold, it produced a visible spark of electricity.

"There!" Malcolm turned to them in triumph. "_Now_ it's ready."

Jim nodded in appreciation.

"Nice work!"

Skye still looked somewhat mystified. Malcolm turned to her.

"Ah. You're probably wondering what on earth is going on here." He pulled his dog tags out from under his shirt collar. "These are connected to these." He pointed to the other cuff on the counter, which had previously gone unnoticed. "Blue for left - electric shock, red for right - sleeping drug injection. A press of the button controls each one." He pressed the blue tag, causing the ring on the end of the pincers to spark again. "Like so. The other one .." He put the pincers onto the counter and picked up the other cuff, holding it gingerly as he pressed the red button. ".. puts out a tiny needle and will inject him with the chemical." A tiny needle arose out of the inside of the cuff and squirted a few drops of liquid onto the floor. Malcolm turned to them. "The vial is sealed by magnetic lock. The key is here." He pulled a small square out of his pocket. "But from now on, it'll be kept in my safe and only taken out if the vial needs to be refilled." Jim glanced at the floor where the liquid had fallen. Malcolm hurriedly explained. "Oh, that's water. But we'll refill it with the actual sleeping drug before we put it on him."

Skye frowned.

"Him .. you mean Lucas?"

Malcolm nodded and pulled another necklace out of his other pocket, making sure not to touch the buttons.

"There are two sets of these tags. One for me and one for the Commander of the colony .." He paused and turned to Jim. ".. which, I suppose, is you."

Jim looked at the tags silently, but when Malcolm held them out to him, he accepted them and put them around his neck. Malcolm continued.

"What I just finished was the perimeter fence." He left the room for a moment and returned with the goggles in hand. "Put these on."

Jim snorted.

"I think I'll take your word for it."

Malcolm rolled his eyes and held them out to Skye, who took them and, with a laughing glance at Jim, put them on. She looked around at the rippling blue walls surrounding them, even visible against the open front door.

"Wow. That's the containment field?" She took the goggles off as Malcolm nodded proudly.

"Two steps out that door and Lucas will collapse onto the sharp gravel thanks to the injection." Malcolm seemed to take a sort of morbid pleasure in the mental picture. "The field is around the whole house, windows, doors - if he tries to get out anywhere, he won't try again. Once he's in there, there will be no escape."

Skye looked around again, looking slightly discontented.

"All this will belong to Lucas?"

Malcolm nodded.

"We modelled some of it off Andrew Fickett's house, but a lot of it had to be made up especially for Lucas. He's a lot smarter than Fickett." Malcolm glanced at her worried expression. "Something wrong?"

"It's just .." Skye hesitated. ".. it's a nice place. He hardly deserves it."

Malcolm nodded again.

"I'm very much inclined to agree with you. If I had my way, we'd be digging a massive hole and throwing him in."

As Skye smiled at Malcolm, Jim spoke up.

"Well, we gotta put him somewhere. And though a hole might be fun .." He glanced sternly at the other two. ".. he might be of use to us yet. At least this way we can keep a close eye on him."

Malcolm hesitantly agreed.

"I suppose so."

Jim patted Malcolm's back.

"Congratulations, Malcolmus. I always knew you could do it."

Malcolm snorted sassily, but he looked pleased all the same.

"I'm sure you did."

Jim looked around.

"So when can we move him in? It's .. getting pretty crowded in the brig." He glanced at Skye, who grinned a little.

Malcolm shrugged.

"Whenever you want."

"Tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Tomorrow it is!"

* * *

As the three of them left Lucas' house, they spotted Josh walking towards them through the trees. In his long white lab coat, the tall young man cut quite a figure. Jim called out as he approached.

"Where are you off to in the middle of the day, son?"

Josh paused as he reached them.

"Just heading to the agricultural department to pick up some herbs for Mom. Evidently she didn't feel like using her own legs." As he grinned at Skye, Jim made a disapproving noise in his throat. Josh looked at his father.

"I was kidding. Obviously."

Jim smiled.

"Obviously."

After a few seconds, Josh made to walk away.

"Well, better get back to it. Can't keep the good doctor waiting!"

"I'll go with you!" Skye glanced at Jim for permission. With a glance at the two expectant faces, Jim gave in.

"Alright. Just be back to report to Sergeant Reilly at 2:00 pm sharp. She has some things she wants to run through with you before the training exercise tomorrow."

Skye saluted him.

"Yes, sir."

This received a wry smile in return. After a last glance at his son, Jim walked away with Malcolm as Skye and Josh headed toward the agricultural department.

* * *

"And it's crazy just how BIG some of them get!" Josh glanced at his companion, who was looking slightly nauseous. "Oh. Sorry."

Skye shook her head and swallowed.

"It's fine!"

Josh smiled at the fences they were approaching and changed the subject.

"I was surprised to hear you joined the security team. Although, knowing you, I probably should've guessed you'd want to."

Skye squinted up at him and smiled.

"To be honest, I hadn't even considered it until recently. But it's pretty nice, actually."

Josh grinned at her.

"'Nice'?"

She laughed and kicked a large rock out of the pathway.

"Well, it's .. you know, it's .." Skye shrugged helplessly. ".. nice!"

Josh was still laughing at his best friend's lack of vocabulary when they heard a voice to the left of them.

"Hey guys!"

They turned to see Tasha waving at them under a large floppy hat. She took off her gloves and approached them, smiling in a friendly fashion.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tasha removed her hat and smoothed down her hair. Neither of them had had a chance to see her much in the past few months, but she had grown up quite a bit. She had always been gentle and kind, but now there was a quiet self-assuredness to her as well. Both Tasha and Skye looked to Josh for the answer to her question. It evidently took Josh a moment to find his tongue.

"We're here to get some herbs, for my Mom. It's a good thing you're here actually, or I would have no idea where I was going. You'd probably find me 3 days later, wandering the bushes for a few berries to survive on!" The girls laughed, but Josh apparently wasn't finished.

"I mean, not you. The search party. You know."

Skye had to look away hurriedly to hide her smile, but Tasha nodded reassuringly.

"I knew what you meant. The herb garden is just this way. What do you need?"

As they began walking along the path Tasha directed, Josh pulled the list out of his pocket and started rattling off herb names, pronouncing the majority of them wrong. Tasha smiled at him when he finished.

"You're in luck! We've got just about all of those. I'll get you a container to bring them back in."

As Tasha disappeared, Skye turned to Josh with raised eyebrows and a teasing smile.

"What .. was that about?"

Josh pretended to be confused.

"What was what about?"

"Oh, come on, you know." Skye put on a deeper voice. "'I mean, not you. No, not you. The search party!'"

As she started laughing, Josh failed to stop the embarrassed grin appearing on his face.

"I don't know!" He put his hands over his face and shook his head, laughing as well.

"Oh, don't worry." Skye patted his shoulder. "It's cute!"

".. what?"

Josh looked at her in bewilderment as Tasha rejoined them and handed him a container.

"All your herbs are in there. Say hi to your mother for me!" She glanced at Skye. "And your mother, too!"

Skye nodded.

"Will do!"

"Hey, I heard you were studying to become a doctor one day!" Tasha smiled up at Josh with bright eyes. "That's great! I wish you luck."

Josh nodded a little shyly.

"Thanks. It'll be tough, but I'm plannin' on tryin' my best."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

A small, cold dot landed on Josh's nose then, making them all look up at the sky.

"It's snowing again." Josh said, as he twitched his nose.

Tasha held her hands out, watching the snow fall onto her palms.

"So it is! I better go check on the plants. If there's one thing worse for plants than cold, it's snow!" She smiled at them. "Thanks for coming by. It was nice to see you guys."

Skye nodded as Josh replied.

"It was nice to see you too."

As Josh and Skye headed back to the Infirmary, Skye leaned toward Josh with a sly grin.

"'Nice'?"

Josh rolled his eyes at her and grinned in spite of himself.

"Shut up."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Wake up, sleepyhead. Today is moving day!"

Lucas attempted to straighten out the kink in his neck as he pushed his body away from the wall. He blinked at Jim sleepily.

".. what?"

"You're moving. Sit up so we can untie you."

With a glance at his father on the other side of the brig, who appeared to be sleeping, Lucas complied. He was promptly untied and put in regular handcuffs.

"Where are you taking me?"

Jim raised his eyebrows at him.

"That .. is an excellent question."

Lucas did his best to glare at Jim, but only managed to yawn.

"Still a little sleepy are we?"

Jim grinned at him. Lucas brought his cuffed hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes.

"Let's just say my roommate snores like a clogged-up tank."

Jim nodded condescendingly and shrugged.

"Well, you will put yourself on the pathway to prison."

Lucas nodded with raised eyebrows, but said nothing. Jim patted his back.

"Come on, sleeping beauty, let's get you out of here."

Lucas glanced at him as they walked out of the brig.

"You're in a good mood."

"Not really. Just glad to have one less prisoner clogging up the brig."

Lucas didn't look at Jim, but frowned at the statement. So what were they doing with him?! Jim sensed the tension in his captive and smiled to himself.

As they exited the dark hallway and stepped out into the bright sunlight, Jim paused for a moment to let Lucas' eyes adjust. Lucas could barely see. He stood in the same spot for a little while, squinting and blinking, attempting to look around him through the watery film that blurred his vision.

After a few moments, Malcolm joined them, ignoring Lucas and talking to Jim.

"We're all ready. I've got them right here."

If Lucas had been able to see clearly, he would've looked around curiously to see what Malcolm was talking about. Instead, he heard Jim's comment.

"Good. Shall we?"

As they proceeded forward, Lucas stumbled. He was gradually regaining his vision, but he couldn't believe how bright everything was. He'd only been living in the dark for just over a week! Jim put out a hand to steady him.

"Easy. Don't want to break your leg the second you make it out of the brig!"

"Thanks." Lucas muttered absentmindedly.

It had snowed overnight once more, and the colony was again covered in a blanket of white. The markets were still as busy as ever. As Lucas looked around, he was almost impressed. The colony had recovered from the take-over and resumed life as normally as possible in a fairly short space of time. All of which, he would've noticed when he first left the Infirmary for the brig, except it had taken all of his concentration to stay on his feet and not throw up all over his escort - even as a prisoner, he had some dignity! Now, as they passed houses and people chatting, he almost wanted to salute them. Good match. We'll see how well you fare next time. With his father in the brig and out of the picture, Lucas was feeling much more charitable towards "the little colony people". But where were they taking him? They were almost past the housing district, and Jim and Malcolm had barely uttered a word. Surely they weren't taking him before a firing squad. He knew them well enough to take his immediate safety for granted. They weren't soldiers; they weren't trained to kill. Then where .. ? House arrest? But they were almost past all the houses. Only one left, a little way away from all the others. This was the house they stopped in front of.

"Welcome home."

Lucas had been somewhat anticipating this, and yet he still glanced at Jim in surprise. Home. This was his house?

"Nice, isn't it? This is where you'll be residing from now on."

Lucas stared in disbelief at the little house.

"What's the catch?"

"Let's go in and find out."

Malcolm's grim voice came from the other side of him. He had a chance to study Malcolm for a moment before he was ushered inside. The scientist was solemn, cold. Lucas didn't blame him, after what had happened to his lab assistant in the Phoenix Group's hands, but war was war. Civilian casualties were inevitable. He sighed internally as they crossed the threshold past the kitchen and into the dining room. War was a part of life. He had grown up around fighting, around death. It had always been present, even when the war had ended and they had gone home. His father had constantly been fighting, whether with himself or his son. When the aforementioned son had been banished from Terra Nova, he'd been fighting for his own survival, against weather and carnivores - even his own employers! He knew they were dangerous people, but he didn't care. He'd been fighting for his survival his whole life. He was smart enough to survive them.

A loud snap on his right wrist jolted him out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed them take the cuffs off. Jim was holding him firmly. As Malcolm snapped a similar shiny round object onto his other wrist, the researcher began to speak stiffly.

"These are your new best friends .. or worst enemies, depending on how you treat each other. Try to take them off, they will activate. Step outside the perimeter of the house, they will activate. Every time they activate, they will trigger an alarm, so the security team will be here before you even wake up."

"Wake up?" As Jim released his arm, Lucas brought his right wrist up to his face, examining it.

With a supportive grin from Jim, Malcolm gleefully explained the functions of the two cuffs. When he finished, Lucas nodded slowly.

"Impressive."

"Glad you think so." Malcolm's biting sarcasm was unmistakable. "Because they're attached to you now, and they're never coming off. Congratulations."

Lucas returned Malcolm's disparaging smile.

"Thanks."

Jim tapped Malcolm on the shoulder.

"Well, we have a lot of other things to do today, so we'll leave you to get settled in." Jim paused and added a word of warning. "Stay inside. There's a guard stationed just outside. Your groceries will be delivered every Monday. There's some spare clothes in your wardrobe. You're in charge of your meals, laundry, cleaning the house, and well .. everything else. Good luck!"

With that, the two men exited, and Lucas was left to his own affairs.

He glanced around the room, not knowing quite what to do with himself. He was still stuck in a state of disbelief. This entire house was his. He decided to begin by exploring every inch of the place. He went into the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, he checked all the cupboards in every room, and finally ended up at the fridge. It was stocked with all kinds of things. He pulled a jug of juice out and set it on the counter. He located a plastic cup in the cupboard - evidently they didn't trust him with glass. He also couldn't find any eating utensils, not that he needed them at the moment. Setting the plastic cup on the counter, he poured his own juice. The small chore was surprisingly satisfying. Lucas had lived in the jungle, surviving on grubs and fish and whatever else he could find. He had lived with the Sixers, who were a little more civilised, but not by much. In the end, he appreciated a nice cup of juice as much as the next person. He had been brought up in civilisation, and regardless of his experiences in the wilderness, the etiquette built into him in his younger days had never completely left him. He made sure to put the jug carefully back in the fridge and as he sipped his juice, he examined the latest additions to his person - the metallic rings around his wrists. They were strong, to be sure, but they didn't look like they'd be too difficult to crack. He wasn't a fan of the right one, based solely on the fact that he hated being unconscious and out of control, so he chose the left one to play around with. As he finished his juice, he rinsed his cup in the sink and carefully placed it upside down on the drainer. He stood there for a moment, letting the water from the tap run over his hands and occasionally splashing it onto his face. Finally, he turned the tap off and wandered into the small lounge area. The seats looked nice and comfortable. He smiled to himself, looking around again and searching the walls for vulnerabilities. As much as he was enjoying himself now, he knew it wouldn't be long before the novelty wore off, and he would be bored out of his brain. He glanced at his wrists again. They had left him in here with ONLY these devices to hold him. If he could get them off, he'd be able to slip out of the colony through the fencing. He'd be free! Sitting down on the sofa, Lucas set to work removing the cuff.

* * *

As Elisabeth walked into the deserted Command Centre, she was greeted by the sound of faint conspiratorial snickering coming from the back. Walking quietly to the sliding door, she opened it a little and peered in. Malcolm Wallace and her husband were sitting in front of the live security system footage, each with a cup of coffee in hand. Every now and then, they would mutter to each other and chuckle again. She glanced at the footage and smiled to herself. So that was what they were doing. She decided to announce her presence.

"So this is what you mean when you say you have a lot of work to do."

Both guilty parties jumped, and Malcolm almost spilled his coffee in his lap. Jim turned to his wife, still mid-laugh.

"Uh, we're just .. um .."

"Spying on our newest resident, I see."

As a sharp shriek came from the screen, they all turned back to it. Lucas had not succeeded in removing his bracelet. What he HAD succeeded in doing, however, was giving himself a nasty shock. An alarm sounded on Jim's handheld radio in the corner. He grinned at Elisabeth and elbowed Malcolm.

"Watch this."

After a couple of seconds, the guard out the front charged through the front door, gun aimed out in front of him. Lucas reclined, and the three observers could just make out something that sounded like "Wow, you guys are swift, aren't you?". The guard retreated back outside and just before he exited the house, they saw him raise his own radio to his mouth. Jim's went off again in the corner.

"This is Collins. Prisoner is secure. Repeat: Prisoner is secure. Over."

Jim patted Malcolm on the back, causing him to almost spill his coffee again.

"Good work, Malcolmus! Doesn't look like he'll be trying that again any time soon."

Lucas appeared to have ceased his experimentation with the device for now and was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, presumably to go to sleep. Malcolm nodded.

"Good. If he tries again, he'll either get another nasty shock, or he'll sleep a lot better than he's going to on that sofa."

Elisabeth laughed. Jim and Malcolm were sitting in a room together, drinking coffee and hanging out - willingly! Evidently it only took the containment of a dangerous criminal to bring them together. As Jim jumped up and made her take his seat, she shot a questioning look up at him.

"How did the transfer go?"

Jim sat on the edge of the table as he answered.

"He was surprisingly polite."

"Of course he was!" Elisabeth laughed. "Wouldn't you be if you were getting out of the brig?"

Jim shrugged with a laugh of his own.

"Yeah, I suppose." He sobered. "Monica Karlpring came by to see me this morning - you know, the counsellor." At Elisabeth's "Yes, thank you, I know who the counsellor I told you about is.", he continued.

"She brought me her preliminary analysis on Taylor. I'm sorry to say, it's not looking very promising."

As Malcolm got up to leave, Jim turned to him.

"Stay, Malcolm. This concerns you as much as any of us."

The researcher nodded and sat down again as Jim resumed his explanation.

"She says Taylor is showing signs of paranoid behaviour and irrational anger. Basically, he seems to think everyone is going behind his back and he's a danger to the colony and himself. She's going to keep working with him, but she doesn't know if he'll be back to his normal self in some time. Perhaps he never will, although we all hope for the best. In the meantime, she thinks it's wise if I continue to lead the colony in his absence, but, of course, that's up to you." He gestured to Malcolm, who frowned in surprise.

"Me?"

Jim snorted.

"Well, not _only_ you, but yes. The council."

Elisabeth nodded slowly.

"Well, I'm afraid I'd have to agree with her. Taylor is in no shape to lead a colony at the moment. He needs time and rest."

Malcolm slapped his knees and stood up again.

"Well, I suppose we best have a council meeting then, but if you ask me, it would be redundant."

As he began walking towards the door, he paused beside Jim, slapping his back.

"Good luck, Commander Shannon. Something tells me you're going to need it."

As Malcolm left, Jim called after him.

"Thanks, Malcolm!"

He cast a terrified glance at Elisabeth.

".. I think."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"FASTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS, A NICE WALK IN THE COUNTRYSIDE?!"

Skye was almost tempted to laugh at Reilly's booming voice, but she didn't have a chance. The security team, or the younger members of it, were doing laps around the small patch of untouched wilderness inside the colony. The snow was difficult to run through, and Skye was beginning to pant hard when a tall soldier started running beside her.

"Having trouble, recruit?"

She glanced up at him. He was a soldier she'd seen around, but didn't know very well. Irving .. maybe? She shrugged as best she could while running.

"Not .. too much .." She panted. How long were they gonna run for?! She frowned as the young soldier leaned closer.

"Skye, wasn't it? .. more like 'Spy'. They should never have let you back in. Should've banished you as well."

He sneered at her surprised expression.

"Yeah, that's right. Cry. Go all soft on me. I-" He stopped abruptly as someone pinched the back of his neck.

"Making friends, are we, Silas?"

Silas Irving scowled as Curran appeared on the other side of Skye.

"Oh. I should've known. Traitors stick together."

With no reply from either of the others, he sped up and began to jog away, casting a last glance over his shoulder at Skye.

"I'll be watching you, recruit." With an exaggerated salute, he ran ahead. Skye stopped running and dropped to lean on her knees, panting and shaking her head. Curran stopped beside her.

"Don't worry about him." He said, not sounding out of breath at all. "He just likes to look tough."

Skye looked up at him.

"He doesn't seem to like you much either."

Curran shrugged and grinned crookedly.

"Yeah, well, the feeling is mutual."

"WHAT is going on here?! Did I SAY it was time for a coffee break?!" Reilly ran up to the two soldiers that had stopped running. As Skye opened her mouth to answer, Curran spoke.

"Sorry, Sergeant! We were tired."

"Tired." Reilly folded her arms and took a glance at Skye's flushed face. "I see."

After a few moments of apparent thinking - in reality, she was letting Skye catch her breath - Reilly nodded.

"Alright. Since you two appear to be so unfit, I think it's time for a team-building exercise!" She extracted a blindfold from her vest pocket.

Curran and Skye glanced at each other as Reilly smiled mischievously.

"We're all about to do this activity in a minute, but seeing as you two are so eager to move on to the next exercise, I'll let you have a head start. The goal is to run around the inside of the colony boundary fence and get back here. The interesting part? One of you will be wearing this." She swung the piece of material back and forth. "Who's it gonna be?"

They glanced at each other. Neither of them particularly wanted to be subjected to the other person's assistance. Reilly handed the blindfold to the tallest member.

"Curran. Put the blindfold on."

"But-"

His commanding officer gave him a warning look, and he slammed his mouth shut and complied.

"Can't see?" Reilly waved her hand in front of his face. "Good. Now Skye will help you around the fence." She turned to Skye. "You can take his arm, his hand, or just run beside him and direct him. Up to you. Good luck."

As Reilly stepped back to assemble the rest of the troops, she yelled at Skye and Curran.

"GO, GO, GO!"

Skye began running in an anticlockwise direction around the fence. Curran began walking hesitantly. She turned back to him.

"There's nothing in front of you! Come on!"

"You try wearing the blindfold then." He muttered, having evidently lost his charitable mood.

Skye sighed and returned to him, taking his arm.

"Come on. This way."

He appeared to be able to move a little faster with someone beside him, so she stayed there. As they made their way around the boundary fence in the snow, she turned to him, still keeping an eye on potential obstacles in front of them.

"What was it like - living in the Sixers camp? Branch."

She helped Curran gingerly step over a large branch that had fallen over the fence. When they were safe on solid ground and jogging again, he answered.

"Not as bad as you'd think. They were suspicious of me at first, but I came to them in such bad shape, I guess they assumed I just needed help. Couldn't survive anymore on my own. Which was basically true." He added ruefully.

"Watch out!" Skye interrupted as she pulled him sideways to stop him running into the corner of a house. Curran stumbled and went down on his knees in the snow. As he grumbled, Skye helped him up.

"You know, you're really supposed to warn me about these things _before_ they become canvases for my bloody face."

"Sorry."

They proceeded forward as Curran continued speaking.

"But they looked after me. I got enough to eat. I got medicine when I was sick." With a hesitant blindfolded glance at Skye, he added. "They became sort of like a second family to me. To tell you the truth, I was pretty sorry to leave them. But don't tell anyone. They don't need any more reasons not to trust me."

Skye nodded, still holding his arm.

"But you brought my mother back. I'll never be able to repay you for that."

Curran half smiled and shook his head.

"Ah, I killed a man and brought your mother back. You betrayed the colony and then helped to save it. I'd consider us even."

Skye smiled at him, though of course, he couldn't see her.

"Alrighty then. Even." She suddenly stopped abruptly. "Curran, stop."

He stopped obediently.

"What is it?"

She reached up and took his blindfold off. Curran protested.

"No, wait! You can't-"

"Just .. look."

They both looked. Imprinted in the glittering snow in front of them was a set of large tracks.

"What .." Curran trailed off and stepped closer to examine them. Skye followed, glancing at him.

"Dinosaur?"

"Have to be. But this big? And in winter? And _inside_ the colony?!" He looked worriedly at her. "This isn't good. Where do you think it is?"

As Curran glanced around them nervously, Skye knelt down to get a better look at the tracks. They were uneven - 5 toes on some feet, 4 on others.

"One thing's for sure .." She paused as Mark Reynolds ran up, leading Dunham. ".. this is where it got in, but the tracks fade here, and there are no signs to show where it got out again."

"IF it got out again." Curran was still looking around uneasily.

After Reynolds and Dunham had inspected the tracks for a few seconds, Skye and Mark came to the same conclusion.

"We better go get Malcolm."

* * *

Malcolm took some readings of the tracks and examined them carefully. He eventually sat back and glanced at Jim and Mark, who had been permitted to stay and show them where the tracks were.

"Hmm .."

Jim stared at Malcolm impatiently.

"Well, what is it, Malcolm?!"

Malcolm stood up.

"A crocodile .. but it's odd, you see. No ditch in between for the sliding belly. Very odd. And seeing as the tracks appear to vanish here, we have no way of knowing where it went." He shrugged helplessly. "Maybe it flew away?!"

Jim raised an eyebrow at Malcolm, smiling in amusement.

"A flying .. crocodile?"

Malcolm frowned at him.

"Well, I don't know, Jim! Did anything come up on the security footage?"

Jim shook his head, glancing once more at the tablet he held in his hand.

"That house .." pointing to the house ".. blocks the view of this part of the fence. Must've been built fairly recently. Make a note. We need to fix that. Can't have gaps in our security." He turned the Plex to Malcolm. "But, as you see, no crocodile bird flying away."

Malcolm glared at him.

"Alright, laugh, but something about this doesn't make sense." He glanced around again, frowning. "If it were possible for it to jump several metres, it could have jumped onto that patio, I suppose. We wouldn't have seen it on the security feed."

Jim glanced at Mark again.

"A crocodile that can jump several metres at a time! Great." He turned back to Malcolm. "But where would it have gone from there? Surely we would've seen it!"

"Yeah, probably." Malcolm looked perplexed. "What now?"

Jim pondered this for a moment.

"Lock down the colony until further notice. Have them shut down the markets. Wherever this thing is, I don't want it attacking the colonists. Tell everyone to stay inside. I'll make an announcement over the loudspeaker."

Malcolm and Mark both nodded.

"Consider it done, Commander."

* * *

As Skye was walking back to her house, she heard Jim's announcement. Stay inside until further notice. If she didn't try again now, she might not get another chance for a while. She decided to take a detour. As she approached the brig and vanished out of sight, Jim smiled to himself and shook his head. Skye. Of course.

Skye trotted down the familiar stairs and approached the guard at the entrance to the brig.

"Here to see Taylor?"

"One of them, yes." She smiled at him. "Lucas."

The guard stared at her in confusion.

"But he's not .. here."

She frowned.

"What? But he must be."

"What he means is, Lucas has been moved out. Permanently."

She turned to see Jim leaning against the wall.

"Oh, right." She blinked. "Moving day. I forgot."

Jim smiled.

"Yes, assuming everything's still going to plan, he's in his own house as we speak. But you're not supposed to be here. Didn't you hear? The whole colony is locked down."

Skye smiled awkwardly.

"I just thought .. maybe I wouldn't get another chance for a while."

Jim nodded.

"Very well. I'll take you to him. But then, until further notice, you STAY INSIDE. Understand?"

Skye nodded and Jim turned to the guard.

"Brady, if Monica comes to visit Taylor, send her right back home. No visitors."

Brady nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Jim beckoned for Skye to follow him.

"Well, this way then."

As they walked out and through the colony to Lucas' house, Jim kept a careful eye on his surroundings. The market stalls had been packed up at an astonishing speed and now there was nothing to be seen but a few random stragglers. Jim told them to get a move on and continued forward. The colony seemed peaceful enough, but his hand was never far from his pistol. After a few minutes with no incidents, they stopped in front of the small house he had only visited that morning.

"Here we are again."

Skye stared at it, shaking her head slowly.

"I still can't believe he gets to live here."

Jim nodded.

"He's not a free citizen, though, if it makes you feel any better. He is still under house arrest. Now this .." He removed the tags around his neck and handed the chain to her. ".. is your protection. If he gets too excited, press the blue one to give him a minor electric shock. If that doesn't fix him, press the red one to knock him unconscious for a couple of minutes. Either one will trigger an alarm and the guard outside will be in in a matter of seconds."

Skye nodded with a vague frown.

"I remember."

Jim patted her shoulder.

"You'll be fine. I'll be right out here, making sure no one ELSE is wandering around against my orders."

Skye grinned at him and entered the house.

As she closed the door behind her, Lucas sat up on the sofa, immediately alert. Evidently, he was more tired than he thought he'd been. Shaking his head to try and clear it, he watched Skye gradually walk toward him. She was staring around at the house, all the while keeping an eye on Lucas.

"Nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She admitted. "It is. You hardly deserve it."

Lucas nodded - whether in acceptance of her point of view or agreement with it, she didn't know. He gestured to the sofa in front of him.

"Take a seat. More comfortable than the brig, anyway."

Skye stood behind the sofa opposite him, her hand never far away from the tags. Lucas looked slightly jumpy.

"So .. to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You know why I'm here." Skye was still obviously very uneasy in this new environment. "Mira's employers."

Lucas nodded, also looking unsettled.

"Are you sure you won't sit down?"

Skye shook her head.

"I'm fine. What do you know about Mira's employers?" She repeated, as she pulled a transparent blue rectangle object, about the size of her palm, out of her pocket.

Lucas took a deep breath, thankful that her hand was a little further away from the buttons of doom, and began.

"I don't know too much about them, to be honest." He smiled at her sheepishly. "But I've suspected for a long time that Mira's goals aren't exactly aligned with theirs - ours." Skye frowned at the momentary confusion on his face, but he quickly recovered. "This is just a theory, mind you, but I'm not so sure the Sixers are on our side. I think Mira's playing a good part, but there's another player behind the curtain. Someone with his own agenda. I used to hear whispered conversations, she'd talk to the future at night when she thought I was sleeping. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, though, and Mira got pretty jumpy when I tried to ask her about it. Then again, I could be wrong." He raised his eyebrows a little. "Maybe Mira's just a very private person."

He leaned forward and Skye resisted the urge to take a step back. Instead, she moved her hand a little closer to the tags on her necklace. Lucas watched her warily as she nearly touched one of the tags.

"Would you please .. take your hand away from those?"

"Why, does it make you nervous?"

Lucas didn't respond, instead changing the subject.

"You look tired. What did they have you doing this morning? Marches?"

Skye allowed him to change it, figuring she'd probably got all she could out of him about Mira. He might know something about their mystery dinosaur, though. He'd spent more time out in the wilderness than anyone. It was worth a try.

"Training exercises. Running around the boundary fence with Curran. Lucas, have you .. what?" She had caught the slight change in his face at the mention of the former Sixer.

Lucas looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"What was the look for?"

"What look?"

Skye returned her focus to the Plextag.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me .."

"It's just .." Skye hid a smile as Lucas immediately gave in. ".. you talk about him like he's just another member of the colony - a _friend_, even. Like he's done nothing wrong. But he has! He's a murderer and a traitor."

Skye looked up to see him studying her closely.

".. and he saved my mother and brought us intel on the Sixers."

"So that automatically makes him a saint again?"

"Of course not." Skye sounded like she was explaining something to a small child. She shrugged and returned to her notes. "But everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

".. everyone?"

Skye looked up at him sharply. Lucas stared back at her for a moment before dropping his gaze. Skye raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, almost everyone."

After a soft breath of laughter from Lucas, they were both quiet for a while as Skye finished typing up the information he had given her earlier. Finally, she finished and put the tag back in her pocket, giving Lucas her full attention. He was staring thoughtfully out the window and appeared to be miles away. When Skye began to talk, he didn't even seem to hear her.

"Curran killed a person. No one is excusing that. But he's sorry and he's doing his best to make up for it in whatever way possible." She leaned on the back of the couch. "You, on the other hand, have done nothing to try to make up for your mass executions and you're not even sorry for it."

Lucas didn't move, even to look at her.

"I only killed one person."

Skye snorted.

"Directly, maybe. Because you were lucky, and I was there to stop you later. You may have only killed one person with your own hands, but you can't escape the fact that you're responsible for the deaths of a lot more." Skye's voice was tight and rebuking now. She watched him with a cold glare. "If you'd had your way, your father, my mother, the Shannons - myself! - would all be dead."

He shook his head and looked her in the eye.

"I would never have hurt you. Or your mother."

"But you did hurt me." Skye's resulting smile looked more like a grimace. "And the fact that I'm standing here today is no thanks to you."

Lucas shrugged.

"What can I do then?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Skye shook her head and stood up straight. "You can't come back from that. You can't save yourself, not even if you gave your life for everyone in this colony. You're a criminal, a traitor, a thief, a murderer, a SOCIOPATH. You can't be forgiven."

Lucas' gaze wavered under her icy glare.

"You can stop." He faltered, finding he could no longer look her in the eye. "You can stop coming. I'll talk to whoever you want me to."

Skye frowned. This, she had not anticipated.

"You'll talk to anyone? Give them all the same information you'd give me?"

Lucas nodded slowly, looking a little despondent. Skye bit her lip, not knowing where to go with this.

"Well, good. I'll .. send someone."

She headed for the door, pausing and turning back as she passed the kitchen counter.

"Goodbye." After tossing out the awkward parting comment, she left.

Lucas shut his eyes tightly for a moment, before finally looking up at the empty doorway and releasing the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding in. With a vague forlorn smile, he muttered to himself.

"Goodbye."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"Well, I better go."

Deborah reluctantly stood up to leave and Elisabeth followed suit.

"Thanks for coming over. We hadn't had a chance to chat in a while."

Her friend smiled.

"I enjoyed it."

They exchanged a hug and walked out the front door into the cold air. Despite the age difference, the two women were good friends and got on surprisingly well. Elisabeth had always appreciated courage in a person, and Deborah had large amounts of it, though it was rarely obvious. She was glad Skye was friends with her son, and when Deborah had come back, Elisabeth had made a point of helping her return to Terra Nova to be as easy and welcoming as possible. As a result, the two families had grown close, and Elisabeth had almost as much affection for Deborah and Skye as they had for the Shannons.

As the two stepped outside, Jim drove past. He stopped the Rover and reversed to the point where he was sitting directly in front of them.

"What are you doing out here? It's not safe."

Elisabeth stared at her husband's face through the vehicle window.

"Not safe? What do you mean? What's happened?"

Jim shook his head.

"Didn't hear the announcement, did you?"

Elisabeth and Deborah exchanged a glance.

"We were talking."

Jim shook his head again with a stern smile.

"There may be an unknown dinosaur in the colony. Everyone is to stay inside until further notice."

Elisabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Really?! What proof do you have that it's in here?"

"I'll tell you about it later." Jim had been anticipating the flood of questions. He was used to his wife's boundless curiosity, but this was not the place to be satisfying it. "Just stay inside. Please. I'll be home soon."

Deborah frowned.

"I'll walk back. Once I'm there, I'll stay put, I promise. But I need to get home."

Jim swung the door open.

"Hop in. I'll drop you off on the way."

"Is it that dangerous, Jim?"

Jim shrugged at his wife as Deborah obediently got in the other side of the Rover.

"We don't know yet. Better to be cautious."

He blew a kiss to Elisabeth when Deborah was fully seated.

"See you soon."

The Rover took off down the path. Jim took a last glance at his house as they drove away. Elisabeth had gone inside. Good. The sound of an alarm from his handheld radio made him jump. He glanced at Deborah with a half-smile.

"Lucas."

His handheld radio responded.

"Sir, the prisoner is contained. He says he's going to keep setting the alarm off until we give him something."

Jim glared at the radio.

"He's going to keep giving himself painful electric shocks .. What does he want so badly?!"

"He wants .. he says he wants a blanket, sir."

".. a what? Say again." Jim glanced at Deborah, who was looking almost as perplexed as he did.

"A blanket. His blanket from the brig. Says it's none of our business why he wants it. He just wants it."

"This is about a blanket .. ?" Jim shook his head in disbelief and turned to Deborah. "Mind if we make a quick stop?"

Deborah shook her head with a smile. Jim turned back to the radio.

"We'll pick it up and head over to you. On our way now. Over and out."

As Jim turned the Rover around, he muttered to himself.

"And get Malcolm to increase the severity of the shock."

* * *

As they approached Lucas' house, Deborah turned to Jim.

"Would you do me a favour? Let me go in and give it to him."

Jim frowned.

"We shouldn't be giving in to him at all. If I had my way, I'd burn his blanket."

He laughed and glanced at Deborah as they stopped the Rover near the front door. She smiled back.

"Still, I'd like to bring it in."

Jim studied her for a moment.

"Alright. The guard is still inside by the looks." He handed her the blanket. "Be quick."

Deborah took it gratefully.

"Thank you."

As she walked into the house, she passed the guard just inside the entrance. Through the kitchen and into the small living room, she caught sight of Lucas. He was lying on his back on one of the couches, throwing and catching an apple. She assumed he'd gotten the apple from the fridge. Whether he planned on eventually eating it or not, she had no idea. As she walked forward, he didn't look at her, instead acknowledging her presence with his next sentence.

"Do me a favour, Deb. If someone ever comes up to you and says "if you love something, let it go" .. punch them in the face and walk away. You might lose more than you bargained for."

"What have you lost?"

Deborah stared at him with a disapproving smile, concealing the fact that she was half afraid she knew what it was already.

Lucas caught the apple and turned to her.

"My will to live. Ever since I was brought to this forsaken place again."

Deb laughed at his dramatic tone of voice.

"Oh, Lucas. Look around. This is a beautiful place. You should be happy!"

When Lucas remained silent for a few moments, she stepped forward.

"Well, maybe this will make you feel better."

She placed the blanket at his feet. Lucas watched her solemnly.

"Deb, you know I'd quite happily put a knife to your throat if it meant I had even the slightest chance of getting out of here, right?"

She smiled and smoothed the blanket a little.

"Yes, you probably would."

"Then why aren't you afraid of me?"

Lucas still looked serious, but now he sounded puzzled. Deborah shrugged.

"Not many things scare me now, after the past couple of years." She stared into space thoughtfully. "No outside threat can be as terrifying as your body attacking itself from the inside."

Lucas raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"I suppose."

"Anyway." Deborah looked over her shoulder as Jim called out. "I just came to drop off the blanket. I can't stay today."

She turned back to see Lucas looking slightly torn.

"Deb." He hesitated, but eventually relented with a sigh. "You can stop coming if you want to. I won't make you come anymore."

Deborah smiled at him and patted his foot.

"You never made me come in the first place."

Lucas raised his eyebrows at her for a moment before lowering his gaze and smiling to himself. Deb took a few steps toward the door, speaking as she walked.

"I will come back. It just might not be for a little while. We're on colony lockdown until further notice - dinosaur threat. I'll come back when I can."

Before he could ask any more questions, she added.

"Enjoy the blanket."

And she was gone.

* * *

Skye stared up at the white material billowing out on the ceiling. She could normally only just see it through the darkness of the night, but tonight, the full moon was streaming through her window and lighting up her room. Why had she had so much trouble sleeping lately? It seemed that ever since Lucas had returned, her regular sleep patterns had been annihilated. She shook her head to herself and turned her mind to what was really bothering her.

As much as she hadn't wanted to see him at first, she had come to consider getting information from Lucas as her job - a way she could make up for her past mistakes and help out the colony. Not that she regretted taking her mother to the Sixers. She would never regret doing whatever she had to do to save her mother's life. But it eased her conscience somewhat to know that she was helping protect her home. Even if it meant conversing with the enemy. Now Lucas had taken that away from her too. She let out an exhausted sigh. She hated him. After everything he had done, it was natural, she supposed. She didn't want to be his favourite. She hated being the one person he wanted to protect. The one person he couldn't bring himself to kill. The one person he thought would be able to understand him. She didn't want to understand him! She didn't want to see things from his point of view. There was no reason good enough to justify the destruction he had caused.

The sight of a pale figure appearing in her doorway made Skye's heart stop for a moment until her mother entered the room.

"Are you alright? I thought I heard something."

Skye smiled as Deborah sat down on the end of her bed like she used to do when they were both much younger. She suddenly realised her mother was waiting for an answer.

"Oh, I'm alright." Skye sat up and hugged her knees. "Just .. can't sleep."

"Hm." Deborah nodded with a gleam in her eyes. "Afraid of the lurking monsters outside?"

Skye grinned. As her smile gradually fell, she replied.

"Just one."

"You went to see Lucas today, didn't you?"

Skye exclaimed in surprise.

"How did you know? You've got the entire security team reporting to you now?"

Deborah laughed.

"Just a guess."

Skye narrowed her eyes at her mother suspiciously.

"I see."

"Did he give you anything important today?"

Skye hesitated.

"I .. can't remember, actually." She smiled sheepishly and gestured to the tag on her bedside table. "It's on there."

Deborah nodded. After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Skye commented,

"He told me I didn't have to come any more. That he'd talk to anyone."

Deborah sighed quietly and smiled.

"Well, that's great, isn't it? You're released! You don't have to keep forcing yourself to go and see him." She watched her daughter curiously as Skye's face fell further. "It's not great?"

Skye looked up quickly.

"Oh, it's great .. I guess." As she saw the growing confusion in her mother's face, she attempted to explain. "It's just that .. he ruins everything. Getting information from him that could help our situation .. it was important. I kind of .. liked it."

Her mother nodded understandingly.

"But I can't go back now, because then he'll think I like seeing him, and .." Skye sighed and shook her head helplessly. "It's no use. He planned it this way. He put me in this position to torment me. The worst part is, it's working."

Deborah smiled at Skye's miserable demeanour.

"Are you sure you're not giving Lucas a little too much credit? I really don't think he has the emotional awareness to put a scheme like that together, much less pull it off." As Skye's expression stiffened, Deborah continued in a gentler voice.

"He's given you a way out. Now it's up to you. You know I'd be much happier if you didn't see him anymore, but if you feel it's your job now, I would never try to stop you."

Skye watched her mother seriously.

"Why are you still going to see him then?"

Deborah stared back at her daughter just as seriously.

"Bucket, I know this is going to be difficult for you to understand, but he needs someone. Someone to listen to him."

"He doesn't deserve anyone to listen to him."

"No, he doesn't." Deborah smiled. "But Skye, I believe he does have a human side. A side that's still hurting from his mother's death. If Ayani was here, she'd want someone to look after him. If you were in his situation, I'd want someone to look after you."

"But I would never kill innocent people and destroy their homes." Skye reasoned. "If Ayani was still alive, she'd disown him as well! And it'd serve him right!"

"Skye!" Skye jumped guiltily as her mother's sharp voice pierced her conscience. "You don't have to like him, but there are reasons people do what they do. You of all people should understand that."

Skye swallowed and studied her hands in silence, unable to look up at her mother. Finally, she spoke quietly.

"I do."

Deborah sighed and drew nearer to her daughter, sitting beside her and putting an arm around Skye's shoulders.

"You have every right to be angry with him. You have every right to never want to see him again. In fact, I'd prefer it. He is dangerous, like the wild animals that threaten this colony. If you do choose to keep going to see him, I ask that you be very careful and make sure your safety is your first concern. But I would also ask that you remember he wasn't always the way he is now." She kissed her daughter's head. "It's up to you. Whatever you choose, I'm already so proud of you."

Skye closed her eyes and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder as Deborah added her final comment.

"And Bucket, I want you to remember that even while I try to help Lucas, you will always be my first concern. If I start feeling that my going to see him is hurting you in any way, I will stop immediately. So." She turned so that she was facing her daughter. "Can I keep going to see him, or not?"

They smiled at each other and Skye gave her mother a stern look.

"I suppose you can go see him. I wouldn't want to stop you if it's something you really want to do. But so long as you look out for your own safety as well. Remember, I worry about you, too, Mom."

Deborah hugged her daughter tightly.

"Deal."

* * *

A week later, there had been no other signs of the phantom crocodile bird plaguing the colony, so Jim called the lockdown off and the colony went about its business as usual. After having a lot of time to think, due to training being cancelled until further notice, Skye had decided to go see Lucas.

As she walked through the door, she saw Lucas sitting on one of the couches with Malcolm hovering above him with a screwdriver. They hadn't seemed to notice her, so she stood behind the kitchen counter and watched.

Malcolm had hold of Lucas' wrist and was shoving one of his cuffs back on.

"There." He dropped the aforementioned wrist like it was poisoned. "I've increased the voltage. Now you won't keep triggering the alarm unless you want to get a paralysing electric shock."

Lucas stared up at him, looking bored.

"Thanks."

As the researcher turned to leave, they both noticed Skye, leaning on the counter watching them. She raised an eyebrow at Lucas with an amused smile. He stared at her in mild disbelief.

"Bucket .."

She frowned at him for a moment and turned to Malcolm.

"Looks like you boys were having fun."

"Oh yeah." As Malcolm approached Skye, he glanced over his shoulder at Lucas. "LOADS of fun."

As Lucas shook his wrist, frowning at his newly replaced cuff, Malcolm leaned closer to Skye and spoke in a low voice.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Skye grinned at him and pulled the dog tags out where he could see them.

"I'll be fine."

Malcolm immediately looked reassured. He had absolute faith in his creation.

"Very well! I'll leave you to it!"

With that, he departed, and Skye came around the counter and sat on the couch opposite Lucas. He watched her cautiously as she clasped her hands and leaned forward to look him in the eye.

"I'm back."

"So I see."

"I want you to know I consider this my way of repaying the colony for my mistakes, though I had little choice in making them. I'm going to keep coming to see you, because if I didn't, someone else would have to, and they've all got better things to do than put up with your attitude."

Lucas grinned, but Skye continued to watch him seriously.

"We clear?"

He nodded, still smiling.

"Sure."

"Good."

That said, Skye seemed to relax a fraction. Lucas suddenly appeared slightly uncomfortable and glanced around the room.

"So .. I've had two visitors today. I suppose that means the lockdown is lifted. No sign of enemy dinosaurs?"

Skye shrugged.

"Evidently not." She tilted her head a little. "Lucas, did you ever see anything like giant crocodiles while you were living out there?"

Lucas swallowed his laugh and made his best attempt to take her question seriously.

"Uhhh .. no, I don't think so."

"What about anything with tracks like this?"

Skye pulled out her Plextag and showed him a picture of the tracks. He frowned, but shook his head again.

"No. Sorry. You sure someone isn't playing a trick?"

Skye sat for a moment, contemplating the suggestion.

"I suppose it is possible. The tracks disappeared after a couple of metres. I don't know how any dinosaur would've made them."

Lucas smiled.

"Well, whatever it was, it probably won't come back. We may never know."

They both stared around the room for a few moments in silence, before Lucas suddenly sneezed, making Skye jump out of her chair. By the time she realised it was just a sneeze, it was too late. Lucas was screaming. She had pressed the zap button at her neck on reflex. Chaos erupted as the guard ran in to see Lucas shaking on the couch and Skye staring in horror at him.

"Everything alright?!"

Skye managed to find her tongue and nodded.

"It's fine. Sorry. It was an .. accident .."

With another glance at Lucas, the guard retreated back out the door, trying very hard to stifle his shriek of laughter.

Skye turned back to Lucas and sat down.

".. sorry."

He very nearly startled her again as he burst out laughing.

"As if you hadn't done enough, you have to barbecue me too?!"

"You gave me a fright!"

Skye watched him regain his dignity and sit back up with a look of worried confusion on her face. He rubbed his watery eyes before focusing back on her.

"Well, I'm sorry for frightening you." He gave himself a little shake and studied her with a trace of sarcasm.

"You have no idea how sorry I am."

Skye looked away as her face took on an unreadable look.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that."

Lucas became serious himself at the subdued sentence. He hesitated, trying to catch her eye.

"I am sorry, you know. I wanted to hurt him. Not you. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know." As Lucas watched her in surprise, Skye looked at him and continued in a quiet voice. "But you did hurt me, you know. In more ways than slamming my head into that Rover."

Lucas looked genuinely confused.

"When? How?"

Skye shook her head with a faint smile.

"When you threatened my mother. When you destroyed the colony. When you .. shot Wash." She deliberately left his father out of her answer. "By hurting the people I care about, you hurt me. Don't you understand that?"

Lucas attempted to justify his actions, to defend his employers, to explain that he didn't have a choice; that it was "just war", but he found that he didn't have the heart for it anymore. His father was locked up in the brig, and would probably stay there for a long time. He was in disgrace, humiliated, unhappy, and knocked off his pedestal. The only thing better than seeing his father dead was knowing he was alive and suffering. He had finally gotten his revenge, one way or another. Now there was no reason to fight. No motive, other than to destroy what his father had built .. but if it was so important to Skye and her mother .. If it meant so much to them, maybe there was no harm in letting it stand. After all, it wasn't his father's colony anymore, was it? He thought of his employers. All of the money they had promised him from the sale of the meteoric ore. He could live in a dome in the 22nd century. He could build his own colony out here. But what was the point? He had never been that interested in money. It was the science that excited him - the discovery of the unknown. Unlocking the mysteries of the universe. Well, that, and the prospect of making his father pay for all those years of loneliness and grief, of feeling accused and abandoned. Lucas leaned back on the sofa, trying to stop the unexpected tears from coming into his eyes, feeling weak and tired out. The destruction of his father had been his goal for so many years. His endgame. What now?

He returned to the present conversation to see Skye watching him with what could almost have been mistaken for concern, if the observing party had known nothing of the history between the two. Lucas shook his head, trying to clear it and focus on what she was saying.

"Sorry, what?"

Skye sighed and repeated her previous sentence.

"How can you not understand that by hurting people I care about, you're also hurting me?"

Lucas shrugged, finally answering the question.

"Guess I never had anyone I cared about that much."

Skye hesitated. Would her next question make him blow up in her face, or was he ready to answer it? She ventured the question in a gentler voice than normal.

"What about your mother?"

Lucas laughed at himself as his eyes began to sparkle threateningly with unreleased tears.

"Her, I cared about." He hesitated, attempting to downplay the distress on his face and unconsciously repeating his father's statement from what seemed like an eternity ago.

"She'd be ashamed of me now."

Skye didn't answer. He was almost certainly right. Instead, she finally decided to ask the question that she had been pushing away since he had first brought up the subject. For once, she actually wanted to know the answer.

"Lucas .." Skye paused uncertainly.

As Lucas raised his eyebrows a little, giving her his full attention, she continued.

"What happened in Somalia?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**_Somalia, 2138 _**

"Look at you." Ayani ruffled her son's hair gently. "You'll be taller than me soon."

Lucas was standing beside her, holding a large bowl full of some sort of batter in his arms. He turned and stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"Well, that's not difficult, is it?"

He grinned as his mother laughed indignantly and took a swing at him with her spatula.

"Still tall enough to whip her cheeky son into submission!"

Lucas laughed and darted out of her reach, still mixing.

The two figures in the kitchen turned in surprise at the sound of a slamming door. Nathaniel Taylor burst into the room, muttering under his breath. With a comforting hand on her son's shoulder and a gentle warning look, Ayani stepped forward to greet her husband.

"Nathaniel .. come, sit down."

She pulled a chair out for him and went back to her cooking, barely taking her eyes off her agitated husband.

"What's wrong?"

"We're surrounded. They're about to take the city."

Ayani frowned and went to the window, closing the curtains.

"What can we do now?"

"We need to get word out somehow, but we can't get through. Argh!" Nathaniel slammed his fist into the table, making both of his quiet family members jump. "It's USELESS."

"What can I do to help?" Lucas spoke softly, taking a couple of tentative steps toward his father.

"You're helping me, right here."

Lucas smiled at his mother as she walked over and kissed the top of his head, but his gaze quickly returned to his father. Nathaniel was watching him thoughtfully.

"There might be something."

"Nathaniel-"

"He's a tough kid, Ayani. He can do it!"

Ayani took on a fierce tone that Lucas had only heard her use a couple of times in his life.

"No. I don't want him out there. He's staying with me."

Her expression had her son quaking internally, but didn't seem to affect Nathaniel.

"You can't hold on to him forever, Ayani. He's 14. If I had a chance to do something this important when I was 14, I would've jumped at it!"

"But he's not YOU." Ayani was shaking. "There must be another way. Send someone else. Send Washington!"

Nathaniel shook his head.

"Wash is doing another job for me. It has to be him." He turned to his son. "You want to do a really important job for me, son? For all of us?"

Lucas nodded eagerly.

"Sure, Dad! What do I do?"

Ayani watched the conversation with a sinking heart. Lucas would do anything to earn his father's respect. The man was looked up to by so many people, including his only child. Sometimes, she wondered whether he was completely oblivious to his son's need for approval, or if he knew and he just didn't know how to give it. Nathaniel stood and put his hands on Lucas' shoulders.

"Think you can do that?"

Lucas swallowed nervously and met his father's gaze.

"I'll try, Dad."

"Good. You're a brave kid."

Lucas beamed as his father handed him a slip of paper.

"Paper. Can't be hacked. Get it out of the town and make sure it gets into the hands of General Philbrick. He's stationed in the northwest hill area. Understand?"

Lucas nodded slowly.

"Well, off you go, son. Good luck."

"I'll make you proud, Dad."

"I'm sure you will."

Nathaniel patted Lucas' shoulders and dismissed him. As Lucas headed toward the door, he suddenly found himself enveloped in his mother's arms. She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead, attempting to blink away the tears.

"I love you, son. Be safe."

She held him at arms' length.

"I'm proud of you."

A lump entered Lucas' throat at the sound of her trembling voice.

"I love you too, Mom." He smiled. "See you soon."

She nodded, unable to speak. Once Lucas had left the room, she glanced at Nathaniel as the tears started running down her face in earnest. He walked over and put his arms around her.

"He'll be fine. You'll see."

Ayani sobbed into his shoulder as the sound of faint gunfire erupted around the city.

* * *

Lucas trotted through the chaotic backstreets, trying his best to appear inconspicuous and not look anyone in the eye. As he approached the walls of the city, the gunfire grew louder. What was he doing?! This was madness! He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't even an outdoorsy person! Why couldn't he just go home where it was safe and read a book?! No. His father was depending on him. They all were. He could do this. He clasped the roll of paper more tightly and ducked down an alleyway leading directly to the wall. If he was going to get through anywhere, this would be it. The unbearably loud hammering sound of enemy bullets was beating into his head now. He cast a quick glance at a small, dark-eyed girl staring solemnly at him as he went past. He put his head down and moved on. As he reached the end of the alley and caught his first glimpse of the wall, an earth-shattering bang and a series of petrified screams reached his ears. Lucas ducked down behind a large bin to wait it out. No sooner had he hidden than sounds of quick, heavy footsteps approached him and several large, armoured men ran past. Lucas swallowed hard and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. The rebels had taken the city.

* * *

A loud bang on the door startled Ayani and Nathaniel. The latter leaped up and stood behind the door, gun ready in his hand.

"Who is it?" He asked in a rough voice.

After a few moments of silence, he was just getting ready to ask again when the door was forced in and Taylor was thrown aside. He quickly recovered and pointed his pistol at the enemy intruders. Ayani stood silently against the wall on the other side of the room, watching anxiously as four armed men entered. Nathaniel was forced to lay down his weapon.

"Outside."

One of the men shoved him forward and gestured politely to Ayani to follow them. As she cautiously neared them, he grabbed her and threw her after her husband.

"Hurry up!"

They were taken outside and made to join a line of terrified captives. From time to time, through the crowd, Nathaniel could pick out a few of his officers. They were all as trapped and helpless as he was. There were armed militants everywhere, and a single attempt at resisting could endanger the lives of every person in the city centre. The soldiers had been stripped of all weapons, and it appeared the crowd of prisoners was being made to wait for someone. Eventually, a tall dark man appeared amongst the throng and made his way through the restless people to talk to one of his men. After a few seconds, he called out.

"Separate the soldiers from the civilians."

In a surprisingly short space of time, Ayani was wrenched away from Nathaniel and made to join the line of civilians a few metres away. The leader stood in between the two groups and walked back and forth, stroking his black beard. After everyone was divided, he stopped pacing and called out in a loud voice.

"Contrary to popular opinion, we are not all barbarians here. You will see how merciful we are."

Ayani shivered as he continued in his deeply accented English.

"Each soldier may pick one civilian to save. Just one. Hal." He repeated the dreadful number in Somali, holding up a rigid pointing finger.

Nathaniel stared at the man in disbelief. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Was he playing games with them? The man paused near Nathaniel. People began to be pulled this way or that, some crying and hugging one another as they were released, others screaming in fear as those left behind were submitted to the unforgiving treatment of the enemy soldiers. Nathaniel closed his eyes for a moment. Thank goodness his son wasn't here. Hopefully he had made it out. He smiled comfortingly at his wife, who was looking around anxiously at the faces of the rippling crowd. He knew Ayani was looking for Lucas. She didn't care what was going on around her at that moment. Where was her son?! Awful images flooded through her head of Lucas lying dead in some nondescript city street, shot or stabbed by these monsters. She took a sobbing breath as the leader reached Nathaniel. At least the choice would be easy for him. Nathaniel smiled at her once again. With no Lucas in sight, the choice was blessedly obvious. He would save his wife. Just before he opened his mouth to say so, a scream cut through the crowd and a young teenage boy was thrown down on the civilian side. Lucas. Nathaniel groaned audibly as the guards that had brought his son passed on a message to their leader that he couldn't understand. He glanced at Ayani, expecting his wife to look terrified at the choice that now lay before them. Instead, she looked more relieved than anything. Lucas was safe. He was alive. Little else mattered. As the guard once again turned to Nathaniel, he caught Ayani's eye. She was smiling at him through the oncoming tears in her eyes. As Lucas was pulled up to a standing position beside his mother, she ran an affectionate hand through his hair. The moment he looked up at her, he found himself being roughly dragged away and thrown beside his father instead. As one of the soldiers put a gun to his mother's head and another laughed, drawing an evil-looking knife, Lucas suddenly realised what was about to happen. He had heard the announcement - only one. He was the one. But then his mother-

With a sob of horror, he glanced up at his father, trying to catch his eye, but Nathaniel appeared to be frozen. The next second drew his eyes back to his mother as his own screams mixed with hers.

Nathaniel ignored the scene beside him as a guard restrained his heartbroken son. He ignored the sounds of gunfire further up the line. He ignored the anguished voices of the crowd and the mix of languages swirling around him. Truth be told, he barely heard them. His eyes were fixed on his beloved wife's face as she smiled at him for the last time. When she died a few moments later, he closed his eyes and died with her.

"That was when he left me." Lucas stared at the small table in front of him, looking as though he'd forgotten Skye was there at all. "He did nothing as they started to beat her. There were so many people around. There was a guard right beside him. He could've grabbed the gun, he could've .. stopped it. I'd seen him fight before. He could've done it. But no. He just stood there and pretended I didn't exist. He stood there .. and watched .. like some psychopathic robot, and did _NOTHING_. When they took us back to the compound, he shut himself away. When everyone had gone, I was left there. Standing in the hall." Lucas gave a short laugh, his voice shaking a little. "I went to his door and stood there for hours, but I never managed to gather enough courage to knock. He turned his back on me. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I failed him, I didn't live up to what he expected of me, and it cost him everything. He never let me forget it."

Lucas clasped his hands together and brought them up to his chin thoughtfully.

"He never listened to me after that. He became distant, paranoid. Even years later, when he discovered I was working to reverse the fracture, he wouldn't listen when I tried to stop him. He flew into a rage and destroyed everything I cared about .. again." He sighed and shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "So I contacted my employers, they sent Philbrick, Dad killed him, and I fled into the jungle, eventually stumbling upon Mira. Or maybe she stumbled upon me .."

Even in his distressed state, Lucas managed a small smile. He finally looked at Skye, who was having trouble taking in this rush of information at the end, and spread his hands apart.

"And here we are."

Skye shook her head, unable to think of anything useful to say. She looked at him with a queer mixture of anger and sadness on her face.

"I'm sorry."

Lucas simply nodded, returning his gaze to the table in front of him.

"Now you know."

Skye watched him. His story was worse than she'd allowed herself to imagine, and yet she still felt furious with herself for feeling sympathy for him. She sighed, frustrated with the both of them.

"I'll never forgive you. I can't."

"I know."

"But I do understand."

He looked up to see her gazing steadily at him. They watched each other for a moment before Lucas smiled a little and looked back down at his hands. He was tempted to ask what exactly she understood, but didn't want to push his luck. Fortunately for him, Skye answered his unasked question anyway.

"The pain of losing one parent and being .. disconnected from the other one. It's something you never completely recover from."

Lucas nodded slowly.

"I thought you might be able to relate one day."

"To the grief, yes." Skye quickly clarified. "But I never went about destroying other peoples' lives because I was hurting."

"Fair point."

They both sat in silence for a while, each deep in their own thoughts. Neither knew exactly how long it had been before Skye finally stood up.

"Guess I better go."

Lucas smiled up at her.

"Guess you better."

"Thank you." As Skye watched a small amount of confusion enter his expression, she added. ".. for telling me."

Lucas laughed a little.

"My pleasure."

When she began to walk away, he added in a low voice,

"Although I should really be thanking you."

Regardless of whether or not she heard the comment, Skye said nothing in reply. As she reached the door, she turned and gave him a small wave before disappearing through the entrance. When she had left his field of vision, Lucas laid his head back on the sofa in exhaustion and proceeded to relive the events of the morning.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"I'm telling you, we've found NOTHING. This place is a graveyard, and without Lucas to-"

Mira turned abruptly from the vague holographic figure as Hooper entered the room.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"Nah." Hooper sniffed obnoxiously and sat on one of the nearby crates. Mira turned back to her fuzzy hologram.

"I'll update you on the situation later."

Switching off the device, she folded her arms and stared unblinkingly at Hooper.

"What do you want?"

"Glitchy, isn't it?" He said, completely ignoring the question. "One would think with how many valuable items we're collecting for them, they could afford to send us better technology."

"The unstable fractures interfere with the signal." Mira said shortly. "What do you want?"

Hooper shrugged.

"I was thinking maybe you could keep your people in line. Two of them snuck out of camp yesterday and only returned this morning. Wouldn't tell us what they were up to."

"My people aren't hostages. They're free to come and go as they please."

Hooper stood up and walked closer to Mira until his dirty bald head was just under her nose.

"They're becoming problems. We need more food, we're running out of water, and instead of helping the situation, they're running around like little useless beetles. And beetles .." He snarled unpleasantly in Mira's face. ".. get squashed."

Mira smiled at him unexpectedly for a moment.

"I see."

Hooper didn't have enough time to react before he was shoved against the tent wall, Mira holding on tightly to his collar.

"My people .." She spoke menacingly. ".. are the only reason yours are still alive. You better have a little respect, if you know what's good for you, or sooner or later you might wake up to find us gone. You'll be stuck out here. No food, no water, no transportation .." She paused as the roar of a carnotaurus sounded in the distance, as if to illustrate her point. ".. and no protection from the locals. Do I make myself clear?"

As Hooper nodded, he was released with a final shove. Stumbling a few feet away, he looked as though he wanted to spit at Mira, but was just able to restrain himself.

"And Hooper. Knock next time. There's a box outside the door for a reason."

Hooper threw aside the tent door with a low mutter as Carter dodged him and came in.

"Making friends again, huh?"

They heard a crash in the distance as Hooper thundered about the camp like a raging bull. Mira turned to her second-in-command.

"What were two of our men doing out last night?"

Carter glanced around suspiciously before talking a few steps toward Mira.

"We're stockpiling. Food, water, weapons. A little at a time so that it goes unnoticed. We're sick of being here with these .. people." He curbed his usual speech patterns as Mira watched him curiously. "We're leaving, Mira. All of us. With no Lucas, we'll never reconnect with the future. Maybe it's a good thing, too."

There was no reaction from Mira, but Carter immediately realised his mistake.

".. sorry."

"It's alright."

"If Lucas was alive, it'd be different, but .." Carter shrugged helplessly. "We can't stay here forever."

"Lucas is alive." Mira spoke up unexpectedly. "He's being detained in Terra Nova."

Carter stared at her in disbelief.

"Terra Nova?! Why didn't you say something? Let's go get him!"

"It's not that simple."

"What do you mean? We've broken in there before. Why not just do it again?"

"They've doubled security since the attack. We've lost equipment and soldiers. The sonics are all out of charge, and Lucas is being kept under house arrest. He may not even want to come back with us."

Carter snorted.

"He'll come. These things are like his kryptonite. He can't resist them."

Mira wasn't completely convinced, but they needed to get back to the future as quickly as possible, and they were running out of time and options.

"Winter will be over in a few weeks. What do you say to this .. ?"

* * *

"And it was so cool. This guy came in with a really bad reaction to zitfruit-" Josh turned to Maddy, who already looked like she was about to throw up all over the table. "It's called that because-"

"I _know_, Josh."

Josh grinned at the green look on his sister's face as Jim interjected.

"Well, though this is really appetising dinner conversation .." He pulled a slightly sick expression at Elisabeth, who laughed at her husband's discomfort.

"Alright, alright. It's wonderful that you're so excited about your work, sweetie." She said, patting her son's arm. "But I'm afraid your father and sister simply don't have the stomach for it."

As Josh shrugged and continued eating, Jim turned to Zoe.

"And how was school today, pumpkin?"

Zoe turned to him in excitement, looking as though she'd barely been able to hold the news back up till this point.

"My class is having a party on Friday night!"

"Oh, wow." Elisabeth smiled at her daughter. "This Friday?"

"Well, no." Zoe looked slightly deflated. "It's not for a few weeks, but we have to make costumes for it!" As she noticed the change in her mother's expression, Zoe added, "But nothing too big. Just with whatever we have around."

Jim nodded, looking almost as excited as Zoe did.

"That'll be something to look forward, too, huh? Hey. Tell you what." He leaned closer to Zoe and spoke in a low, conspiratorial tone. "Maybe we can even borrow some of Mommy's clothes for the occasion."

At Zoe's "Yeah!", Elisabeth shook her head disapprovingly at her grinning husband, and turned to Maddy.

"You're pretty quiet tonight, Maddy, are you feeling alright?" She put her hand to her daughter's forehead to check for a possible fever. Maddy smiled and gently removed her mother's hand.

"I'm fine, I'm just .. so tired." She illustrated this point with a massive yawn, which she hurriedly covered with her hand. Josh stared at her in mock horror.

"Really, Maddy! At the table!"

Maddy glared and threw a napkin at him, which he caught deftly and grinned annoyingly back at her. She rolled her eyes and continued talking to Elisabeth.

"Dr. Wallace has been overrun with charts, and studies, and repairs. He barely has time to teach me anything, he's so busy. So, I end up doing a lot of his observations for him, which is good practice .. I guess, but it's not very interesting."

Jim frowned.

"But I thought Boylan was doing the repairs."

Maddy shook her head.

"He's been too busy trying to get the Bar back up and running again, as well as restock his alcohol supply. If you ask me, the man's priorities could use a little work."

Maddy's parents exchanged a silent grin at the salty comment, but said nothing.

Elisabeth frowned.

"Well, surely there's someone else in the colony that could do the repairs!"

Maddy shrugged.

"Guess everyone else is busy dealing with their own problems."

Jim said nothing, but looked thoughtful. Josh noticed his expression and grinned.

"Having another revelation, Dad? Look, I know it may be hard to believe .." Josh put his hand reassuringly on his father's arm. ".. but male pattern baldness is a real thing!"

Smiling lazily at Josh, Jim suddenly shot forward and messed his son's hair up until it was sticking out all over the place.

"What?! Dad! No!"

After a few failed attempts at protecting his head, Josh heard Maddy snort as Jim pulled away. He turned to glare at his sister, who was staring seriously at him, head tilted to one side contemplatively.

"It's an odd fashion choice, but I think it works on you."

As Maddy dissolved into a fit of laughter, Josh attempted to restore his hair to normal order.

"Thanks, guys. Thank you very much."

* * *

Malcolm looked around at the Command Centre as he passed through it into the back room. Dust. Dust everywhere. Didn't Jim know how to use a duster? As he slid open the doors and stepped into the security room, Jim turned to face him from his chair.

"Ah, Malcolm! There you are."

Malcolm waited for a moment, looking slightly agitated. When Jim said nothing, he barked out,

"Why did you call me in? You have no idea how much I have to do today!"

"Actually, I do. That's why I called you in."

Malcolm frowned at the smiling man in the chair.

"What-"

"I have a proposition. You need help with repairs, right? The colony is dumping their malfunctioning garbage on you, and you're getting overwhelmed with it."

"Well, some of it's very sophisticated equipment, but .. yes, I suppose."

"What if I told you, I knew someone who needed a job? Someone who was bored stiff at home doing nothing and who learned quickly. Someone who just needed a bit of .. guidance .."

They both glanced at the monitor at the same time. Lucas was busy trying to see if he could balance a few items from the fridge on top of each other on the lounge room table. A little gasp came from Malcolm as he realised who Jim was talking about.

"No. Absolutely not. No!"

"Come on, Malcolm. It'll be his version of .. making license plates!"

"No way!"

"It'll be doing you both a favour."

Malcolm looked like he wanted to run out the door.

"Jim, he'll use the materials in the devices to unlock his cuffs! All he needs is a particular type of magnet."

"Then strengthen them! Give him devices without magnets, I dunno, Malcolm, is it really that difficult?"

Malcolm fairly choked.

"Difficult?! It's near impossible! Do you KNOW how many things these days use magnets?! Oh wait, back in your day maybe they hadn't invented magnets yet."

Jim tilted his head at the researcher.

"Alright, Malcolmus. I thought I was doing you a favour."

He switched off the display.

"Go back to your crazy schedule and endless repairs, while a brilliant scientist wastes away in a house not far from here. I thought one of the things you hated most was wasted resources. Seems you don't mind as much as I thought you did."

He stood and patted Malcolm's shoulder on the way out.

"Enjoy your tinkering."

"Not tinkering! Necessary repairs!"

"Sure, Malcolm." Jim's voice came from the other side of the Command Centre. "Don't forget to turn the light off when you come out."

Malcolm turned the light off heatedly and stood there in the dark for a moment. In a way, Jim's proposal made sense, but would it just be putting potential weapons in the hands of a killer? Malcolm shifted indecisively and turned the security display on again, just in time to see Lucas' tower fall. He lay down on the sofa in frustration as an orange rolled across the room. Malcolm sighed and shook his head. He switched off the display once again and headed to his lab to get his tools. There was work to be done.

A few minutes later, he arrived at Lucas' door and knocked. Glancing back at the guard who was giving him a strange look, Malcolm attempted to justify his automatic politeness.

"He might've been .. getting dressed or something."

At the guard's slow nod, Malcolm entered the house. Lucas was sitting up, watching the door. When he saw Malcolm, he grinned.

"You knocked?"

"Unlike certain other people, I didn't leave my manners behind when entering the Cretaceous."

Lucas had a vague idea that for once, Malcolm was taking a dig at someone other than him. He watched as his fellow scientist stepped carefully over the runaway orange and placed his toolkit down on the table.

"Practicing your juggling?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Nah, there's only one clown in here."

He bit back a laugh as Malcolm paused momentarily and pretended not to understand the comment.

"Right. I need to make some more adjustments to your accessories. Hopefully these will be the last ones for a good while, so sit back, make yourself comfortable, and I will begin."

Malcolm spun round a rather evil-looking laser cutter and set to work, doing one cuff at a time.

"Remember .." He muttered as he took Lucas' left cuff off and sat opposite him. ".. one unexpected move and this tool can become multipurpose .."

Lucas nodded thoughtfully, watching Malcolm work with interest.

"You know, you should really leave the veiled threats to the real bad guys."

"And who would they be, exactly?"

As Malcolm popped the cover off the cuff he held, Lucas replied.

"If you don't know the answer to that by now, you really need to get out of your lab more often."

"Possibly." After a few moments of silence, Malcolm snapped the cuff back onto Lucas' wrist and was working on the other one. Lucas examined his left cuff.

"Nice. What did you do to it, exactly?"

Malcolm looked up at him.

"I thought you were a genius. Couldn't you tell?"

Lucas stared at him with an annoyed smile.

"Well, believe it or not, Malcolm, even I don't know what every chip in the world does just by looking at it."

Malcolm smiled back before returning his gaze to his current activity.

"Well, then, I guess you're going to have to wait and see."

"Great."

After a few more minutes, Malcolm returned the right cuff to its wrist and then shut away his tools.

"Done. Now .."

He took the tags off from around his neck and held them out to Lucas, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

"These are the tags that control your bracelets, as I'm sure you well know by now."

Lucas narrowed his eyes at the necklace dangling in Malcolm's outstretched hand.

"Go on." Malcolm jingled the chain a little. "Take it."

Lucas folded his arms.

"No thanks."

"Oh, so you _are_ smart now!"

Malcolm returned the chain to his neck and sat back down.

"Good thing for you, too." He attempted not to gloat at his brilliance. "I've added an extra circuit. The cuffs now emit a small charge - you won't feel it at all, but if either of your hands touch this chain, or the other chain, for that matter, the circuit is closed and the cuffs will activate, meaning if you ever think of attacking one of us to steal these tags and escape, think again. You won't get far."

Malcolm cleared his throat and attempted to take on a more serious tone, squashing the delightful glee bubbling up inside of him. Lucas nodded slowly, raising his eyebrows a little at Malcolm.

"Clever."

"Quite." Malcolm folded his hands together and looked Lucas in the eye. "There is another matter I came about."

He pulled a small object out of his pocket.

"This is a portable MRI machine from the Infirmary. When it's working, all it does is scan people .. only this one's not working. Think you can fix it?"

"Me?" Lucas accepted the small device in surprise, turning it over in his hands and examining it. "I'm only a physicist. I'm not an engineer."

Malcolm nodded.

"I know, but you're a smart kid. You'll learn." Lucas looked up with a sarcastic smile at Malcolm's superior tone, but Malcolm continued. "Thanks to your little power play, the repairs are still flowing in, and on top of my usual work, I just don't have enough time. So. I figure if I come here each morning and bring some things that need repairing, I can help you if you get stuck, we'll finish twice as fast, and you'll have something to keep you occupied. It can be your .. community service. What do you say?"

Lucas put the device down and stared across the table at Malcolm.

"So basically, I'll be doing your work for you .. for nothing."

Malcolm nodded happily.

"Basically."

Lucas shook his head.

"No thanks."

Malcolm pulled a tiny object out of his pocket with a hard plastic tab on one end and a little screwdriver on the other end. He set it on the table beside the MRI device and stood up.

"Think about it."

With that, Malcolm smiled to himself as he left the room.

* * *

Jim turned in his chair to face the sliding door again, as he'd done earlier that morning. He wasn't surprised to see Malcolm walk in. The scientist, however, was evidently not expecting to see Jim back in the security room. Jim gestured to a nearby chair.

"So I see you reconsidered, Malcolmus."

Malcolm reluctantly sat down and stared at the screens.

"Well, I decided to trial run it."

"And the magnet issue? You strengthened it, like I suggested?"

Malcolm glared at Jim.

"It was a little more complicated than that. It was quite brilliant, actually, if I do say so myself."

"And you do, quite often."

Malcolm ignored Jim's rude interjection and continued.

"I left the magnet as it is, but I did add an extra security mechanism. Unless the key is within range, the magnet is sealed off in a secure compartment. When the key comes in range, the seal is opened, meaning the magnet is accessible .. while the key is in range."

Jim nodded impatiently, attempting to hurry Malcolm's explanation up. Malcolm continued with bright eyes.

"Well, this is the really brilliant part. I set the cuffs and key to a rotating frequency, so even if Lucas gets close to cracking the frequency, it'll change soon afterwards and he'll be forced to start again!" Malcolm rubbed his hands together. "The only way he can get in is by cracking the algorithm, and that will take him some time. Even then, he'll need the right type of magnet to get into the cuff."

Jim grinned at him.

"Nice job! And look." He pointed to the screen. Lucas had been sitting in the same position, staring at the items on the table. Now, he finally gave in to the temptation and reached forward slowly, picking up first the tool and then the device. As he began tinkering with it, Jim winked at Malcolm.

"Looks like you've got yourself a brand new assistant."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"Not bad, Tate. Not bad at all." Reilly nodded approvingly as her young recruit hit the target straight-on once more, sounding more like Wash than Skye cared to admit.

"See if you can do that a few more times."

Reilly walked further down the line of shooters, watching other soldiers shoot, and making a few of them nervous. They were outside the boundary fence doing the final training exercise, which happened to be in 3 parts - first aid training, gun handling, and finally, a wilderness protocol practice drill. Reilly had wanted to take them out overnight, but Jim had shut that idea down firmly. Even if it was still technically winter, the snow was gone and the air was already warming up. The predators would be stirring from their winter stupor and he didn't want to take any chances. Even when Reilly reasoned that they could sleep in a couple of large trees they had often used for training under Wash and Taylor, Jim hadn't budged.

Due to her time in the Infirmary, Skye had done fairly well at the first aid, and her commanding officer appeared to be happy with her shooting. Now there was just the drill, which Skye was almost looking forward to. This being the last training session before her trial time was up, it doubled as a bit of an evaluation. Skye shot the homemade target dead-on again. She'd enjoyed her time in security far more than she had expected to. She wanted to do well.

"Very good, Irving, but humility is also a virtue." Reilly's dry voice carried back to Skye from down the line. She grinned. Silas hadn't spoken to her recently, but he took every opportunity to try and be better than everyone else.

"Alright, guns away! Put them back in their holsters. You may need them for later." Reilly shot a mysterious smile at Dunham, who was supervising a few of the recruits at the other end of the line.

"Gather round!"

They gathered around Reilly in something that almost resembled a circle.

"ALRIGHT." Their commanding officer strolled around the inside of the circle, looking each of them in the eye as she went past. "This is your last training exercise for the winter. Some of you may go on to join the security team for further training. Some of you may decide to try other things. That is perfectly fine, but seeing as this is your last mission together, make it count." She glanced over at Dunham, who was gathering away all the targets. At his nod, she turned back to the group. "Somewhere in those trees .." She pointed to a nearby forest. ".. is a body." She paused for dramatic effect, and smiled when a couple of people gasped. "A test dummy." They gave each other sheepish grins.

"For our purposes, it is an injured civilian."

One of the recruits put his hand up.

"But why would a civilian be out here?"

"Good question. Sometimes deliveries have to be made, doctors have to be sent to outposts. Believe it or not, some young people like to put themselves in danger by braving the wilderness. They think it's exciting and it makes them feel adventurous." She glanced at an uncomfortable-looking Skye for a moment, before turning away and continuing. "Either way, it does happen, and the job falls to us to mount search-and-rescue operations."

"But why should we risk OUR lives to help idiots who put themselves in danger on purpose?!"

Skye bit her lip and looked at the ground as Reilly gave him a warning look.

"Because we're the security team and it's what we do. Do you have a problem with that?"

The young recruit shook his head respectfully.

"No, Ma'am."

"Good."

Reilly sighed a little as Dunham approached behind her.

"As I was saying, your job is to perform emergency first aid and retrieve the survivor, bringing him back here to safety. I'm letting you keep the sonics for now, because regardless of the fact that it's winter, there may still be dangerous animals about, so stay on your guard and look out for each other."

A couple of recruits looked around at each other anxiously again.

"I haven't heard any roars though, so I'm sure you'll be fine." Dunham added, taking compassion on the terrified-looking soldiers.

"You'll have to establish a search perimeter, and search each section of the grid, just like we practiced." Reilly continued. "There are no singular winners in this exercise." She shot a pointed look at Silas. "If one of you loses, you all lose. Do NOT lose your teammates."

She stared around at them seriously for a moment.

"Good luck. Head out."

The group broke and headed toward the forest. Skye found herself jogging beside Silas. He glanced at her with a smirk.

"Better be careful. Easy to get lost in these woods, and you know the slashers tend to pick off the smallest ones first. That'd be you." He added helpfully, making sure she fully comprehended him.

Skye smiled up at him.

"You don't have to worry. Slashers mostly hunt at night, and besides .." She muttered more to herself than him. ".. I know these woods fairly well myself."

"Alright, form a line." Being the highest ranking officer in the group, Curran had taken charge. He had been required to take the rookie course again as part of his probation. When the group had formed a line, he continued with his instructions.

"Walk slowly forward. Keep an eye on the people on your left and right, so you don't lose anyone. If you see something, call stop."

"Wait, hold on a minute." This, of course, coming from Irving. "Why are you automatically the leader?"

Curran stared at him.

"I've done this before. Plenty of times, actually."

"Before you committed murder, you mean."

Silas' eyes flashed. Curran folded his arms.

"Fine. Who else wants to lead the team?"

Only one person put their hand up. A voice called out from the side.

"Oi, shut up, Silas! We're wasting time."

The hand dropped slowly. Curran smiled in annoyance at him.

"Shall we?"

They all continued on in silence. After a few minutes, a voice called out again.

"I've got it! Here!"

They all gathered around the large tree that the dummy was leaning against. It was a simple training device, made out of an old bag and some twine, but it worked. It looked as though Dunham had splashed some red paint on it for effect .. at least, Skye hoped it was red paint. Curran kneeled beside the dirty bag person.

"Looks like a head injury." He looked up. "Which one of you will tend to this injured person's wounds?"

After a moment of silence, a young man stepped forward.

"I will."

He pulled a bandage out of his pack and began carefully wrapping the dummy's head. Curran nodded his approval and stood up, addressing the others.

"While the medic is tending to the wounded, he's going to need protection. Why are you all watching him? You should be watching those bushes." He gestured to a clump of green a few metres away just as the wind rustled the leaves. "And the trees. And each other. You're no good to either of them if you can't protect them."

An outward-facing circle was formed around the "injured person" and the "medic".

As she stared around at the surrounding forest, Skye began to feel uneasy. Something was watching them. She listened closely as she studied the wall of foliage hedging off the small clearing. Nothing. Maybe she hadn't been out for so long, she was getting paranoid. Her focus returned to the group. Curran was instructing another recruit to take the dummy's legs so they could carry it to safety. Safety indeed. Something about this area was definitely not safe.

Just as the watched feeling returned, they heard a muffled scream from behind them. Skye hurriedly looked around to where the terrified girl was staring just in time to see a pair of cold, unblinking eyes and a long scaly snout fade back into the bushes. She attempted to slow her quickened breathing and turned to Curran.

"We have to move. Now."

Curran nodded.

"Everyone, sonics at the ready. We're moving out. Keep the two carrying the dummy in the middle."

As they walked cautiously away, Curran leaned closer to Skye and spoke in a low voice.

"Slasher?"

Still watching the trees for any sign of the creature, Skye replied.

"Not like any slasher I've ever seen."

Reilly shot Dunham a vaguely impressed look as her small clan of soldiers re-emerged from the forest.

"They're back early."

Thankful to be out in the open once more, the group relaxed a little as the dummy was laid gently down on the grass. Dunham examined the dummy and looked up at Reilly.

"Looks satisfactory to me."

The young medic beamed as Reilly patted him on the shoulder.

"Good work, crew. You should be proud of yourselves. It's been a pleasure training you. Now, what do you say we go home and have some lunch? You've earned it."

Reilly wasn't one to stand on ceremony.

As they began to walk back, Skye found Reilly on her right.

"You've done well, Tate. There's a spot on the security team for you if you want it."

Skye smiled at her.

"I think I might. But .." She frowned. ".. my mom. I'd have to move into the barracks, wouldn't I?"

Reilly shrugged.

"We're pretty flexible where that's concerned. A lot of the senior officers have families of their own - they don't live in the barracks. It's true, we prefer our younger members to, but so long as you make sure you're always where you're supposed to be on time, I don't think it'll be a problem."

Skye grinned, pushing away her uncertainty.

"Then .. count me in, I guess!"

"Great!"

Reilly accepted a couple of sonics, including Skye's, and handed them to Dunham to carry back. She then turned to Skye again, grinning.

"He likes to carry all the guns. Makes him feel tough."

Dunham made a choking sound and walked further on ahead, carrying his bruised dignity away with him. Curran appeared on Reilly's other side.

"By the way, Sergeant, something was watching us in the bushes back there."

Before he could go on, Reilly raised her eyebrows at him.

"You think you were being chased by monsters, Curran?"

He frowned.

"It was some sort of dinosaur that we didn't recognise. Skye saw it. I thought you better know."

He nodded to Skye, who confirmed his story. Reilly frowned thoughtfully.

"Well, I'll tell the troops to keep an eye out. Thanks."

The conversation quickly came to an end then and they walked along in silence, but Skye's feeling of unease began to return. As they reached the colony gate, she looked around at the field just in time to see a long tail vanishing into the trees.

* * *

"No, the SMALL CHIP." Malcolm ran his hand through his hair in frustration as Lucas frowned.

"But you said-"

"NO." Malcolm reached out to grab the dismantled device in Lucas' hands, but it was held out of his reach. Lucas scowled.

"I'll fix it."

Malcolm put his hands up and rolled his eyes, going back to his own project.

"Fine."

He had arrived that morning to see the little MRI device sitting on the table in perfect working order. Lucas had attempted a careless comment about how he guessed it wasn't really broken after all, but Malcolm had heard the hint of subdued pride in his voice. The researcher had sat down on the opposite couch and dumped an armload of broken or malfunctioning equipment on the table in between them. No mention had been made of Lucas' blatant refusal to help with the repairs the previous day, of which the young physicist was secretly grateful. Seeing Lucas' eyes light up like a child's when the box of devices was emptied out in front of him was all the confirmation Malcolm needed. They had each taken up an object and begun work on their respective projects without another word. Every now and then, Malcolm would offer a word of advice, which Lucas would begrudgingly acknowledge, but for the most part, he left his new apprentice to figure the repairs out on his own. Until now. Lucas evidently had no idea of the differences between Diochips and Nexis chips. HOW could such a brilliant scientist not know something so SIMPLE?! Malcolm bit his tongue as Lucas went to put in the chip upside down, and breathed a sigh of relief when he at last got it in the right way. Finally. As Lucas screwed the device's shell back on, Malcolm thankfully went back to his own device.

Unbeknownst to him, Lucas had felt every one of Malcolm's displeased looks, heard every frustrated sigh .. and he was taking notes. A few minutes later, he had picked up another object and was attempting to get the casing off. Malcolm glanced up a couple of times to see Lucas fiddling patiently with the casing, attempting to pull it off. After another 10 minutes, the casing was still intact, and Malcolm couldn't help himself. He looked over.

"Having some trouble?"

Lucas shook his head.

"I've got it."

"Those things can be tricky." Malcolm added helpfully. "Why don't I-"

"It's fine! I've got it."

Malcolm watched in mounting frustration as Lucas failed to get the case off once again.

"Huh."

Just then, a piece of metal on the casing caught his eye as it reflected the light. A screw. Lucas had missed a screw?! What kind of genius .. ?! He cleared his throat.

"Um. I think you might've missed a screw in there."

Lucas stared at him wide-eyed.

"Really?!"

He turned the case over for a few minutes, looking perplexed until Malcolm finally darted forward and put his finger on it.

"There! Aha .. it's there."

"Oh!" Lucas smiled at him. "So it is!"

As the casing finally came off, Malcolm took a deep breath and returned to his work. Unbelievable.

A few minutes later, Malcolm laid down his finished device and sighed, watching Lucas attempt to put a chip into a small slot in every way except the way it was supposed to go in. Lucas stifled a laugh as Malcolm ran his hand through his hair in agitation again.

"Look, haven't you ever done a puzzle? How about-"

"No, it's fine. I've got it."

Lucas put a hand up to shush Malcolm and resumed his futile efforts. Malcolm was about to lose it when Lucas finally clicked the chip in.

"There!"

Lucas beamed at poor Malcolm as the latter attempted an encouraging smile.

"Well done."

The frazzled researcher stood up abruptly as Lucas reached for another device.

"I think we're done for the day!"

Lucas swallowed a hysterical laugh and stared seriously at Malcolm.

"Give me one more chance. Just one. I'll do better, I promise."

Malcolm sighed again and reluctantly sat down, taking up another project. He looked up in astonishment a few minutes later to see that Lucas had almost finished his third sonic jug. He shook his head and returned his gaze to his own device, narrowly missing Lucas' mischievous grin. Guess you never can tell about some people .. !

* * *

Monica tapped her chin thoughtfully as she watched Taylor. She had only sat down a moment ago, but he already looked angry. She decided to start with a simple question.

"Nathaniel .." She allowed herself to trail off, her question forgotten as he visibly tensed. "Does it make you uncomfortable when I call you by your first name?"

He didn't answer.

"What would you prefer I call you?"

"Commander Taylor is fine." This spoken gruffly and without even looking at her. Monica nodded slowly.

"Why do you prefer Commander?"

"It's my military title. I've been in the military most of my life. Why wouldn't I prefer it?"

"Does the use of your first name make you uncomfortable?"

"No. Why would it?"

He looked at her disdainfully and Monica smiled back.

"Do you want to know what I think, love?"

"Not really."

The counsellor continued anyway.

"I think the use of your first name makes you feel inferior. It's a reminder that you're no longer in authority. You no longer have control, of yourself or anyone else." She tilted her head with a smile. "Am I getting close?"

Nathaniel growled.

"If you're going to sit there and patronise me, you can GET OUT."

Monica smiled sadly at him.

"I'm not patronising you. Do you feel patronised?"

Nathaniel wanted to bite his own tongue off. He had caught himself in his own words. The woman was a snake.

"Do you feel like I'm mocking you? Like everyone else is mocking you?"

"We're done here."

Taylor stood up and faced the wall of the brig, turning his back on her. Monica sighed.

"Where do you think you're going to go, Commander? There's no way out of this cell except through me. You can either work with me, or I can leave you to your examination of that wall. I'm sure it's fascinating."

As she stood up to leave, a whirlwind suddenly descended on her and a strong hand was clasped around her neck. Taylor's glinting eyes appeared out of the darkness close to her face as she struggled to remove the vice constricting her breathing.

"Now who feels powerless?" He growled menacingly and released her. She dropped to the ground, shaking and gasping for air.

"You're signing .. your own .. life away." Monica stood up slowly, leaning against the pillar for support. "Don't you ever want to get out of here?"

"My life is over."

Monica watched him warily from a few feet away. He looked exhausted from his recent efforts. He continued speaking in a low voice.

"One of these days, I'll find a way to escape. I'll return to the wilderness where I belong and neither you or this traitorous colony will ever see my face again."

Monica took a step toward the defeated man and put a hand on his shoulder.

"This is your home. The people here care about you. They want you to get well."

He seemed to respond to her gentle manner and half-turned to face her.

"There's nothing wrong with me."

She looked into his eyes sympathetically.

"I want to help, but I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth, Nathaniel."

She immediately regretted her choice of words as the cold fury returned to his eyes and he pushed her hand away.

"I told you .. not to call me Nathaniel."

She sensed the oncoming danger too late. As she attempted to take a step back, Taylor grabbed her and threw her into the brig wall with an angry yell. The scene that the guard ran in on a few seconds later made him pause in horror. Monica was lying still in the corner with Nathaniel towering over her. As he looked up to meet the former Commander's dangerous gaze, his heart dropped. Taylor's eyes shone like those of a madman. As his stomach clenched in cold fear, the young guard raised his sonic pistol and centred it on his childhood hero. They stood watching each other like two shadowy statues on either side of the dark room until Taylor broke the stalemate with a grim smile. A few seconds later, several brilliant blue flashes burst forth, temporarily illuminating the dim atmosphere of the brig.

* * *

Skye looked up as she exited the hall of the barracks. The atmosphere was darkening. They could be in for a storm soon. With a quick glance back into the crowded building where everyone else was finishing lunch, she headed toward the markets. Two weeks holiday. Two weeks to make a decision. As she wandered amongst the various market stalls, she looked around searchingly, unsure of what exactly it was that she was hoping to find. She glanced up at the sky again as a faint flash lit up the horizon. None of the market people seemed to care. Maybe the storm was going around them. Turning back to the stall, Skye picked up a small bracelet and studied it thoughtfully. She had a big decision to make. She realised that much. What she didn't realise was that she needed reassurance. A hand on her shoulder drew her out of her own thoughts. She turned to see Jim Shannon smiling down at her.

"Reilly tells me you aced your final training exercise. Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

As she smiled up at him, he studied her face.

"What's up, kiddo?"

Skye put down the bracelet and turned away from the stall to face him. She shrugged.

"Now I have to make a decision, I guess."

Jim frowned.

"Well, Sergeant Reilly seems to think you were born to be a part of her team." He laughed, leaving out the part about how Reilly considered Skye joining the security team as a foregone conclusion.

Skye grinned at him.

"She does, huh?"

"Yep!"

"It's just .." Skye shifted, and Jim began to walk away, gesturing for her to walk beside him. Skye followed. ".. it's a big commitment."

"And we know how you value your freedom." Jim gave her a knowing look, and Skye laughed in response.

".. yep."

"Look, whatever you decide, we think it's about time you had this back."

Skye watched Jim curiously as he unhooked a leather item from his belt and handed it to her. She accepted it in surprise.

"My sonic."

"You've earned it."

Skye strapped the holster to her waist and took her gun out, examining it carefully. After a few moments, she looked up at him.

"It looks almost new!"

"Well, we had to keep it in good condition. We knew its owner would want it back eventually."

As they kept walking, Skye returned it to the holster solemnly.

"I didn't think I deserved it back."

"Maybe you didn't."

Skye glanced up at him quickly, but he was smiling.

"At any rate, you did what you had to do, and you've redeemed yourself now."

"Redeemed myself .. right." Skye repeated. She suddenly frowned.

"Do you think there's a lot of trouble ahead?"

"Maybe." A distant crash of thunder made them both glance up. "Guess we can only wait and see, but that storm looks to be headed our way after all."

"Think it's a sign?"

Jim raised his eyebrows at her.

"Why, Skye, I didn't think you were the superstitious type."

She grinned back.

"I'm not."

"Ah." Jim nodded. "Still attempting to gather information, huh?"

When Skye didn't respond, Jim patted her shoulder.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders, kiddo. For what it's worth, I think if trouble does come, the colony could use someone like you to help protect it. Of course, it's completely up to you, but if you're still on the fence just because no one's told you how much good you can do in security .." He smiled. ".. consider yourself told."

Skye was silent for a moment, the smile slowly growing on her face. She grinned up at him.

"When can I start?"

"You sure?"

"I want to." Skye took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll join the security team."

Jim grinned.

"Reilly's getting your tags prepared as we speak."

Skye stared at him in surprise.

"How did you know?!"

"We hoped."

Skye shook her head in amused bewilderment as they turned around to face the market.

"And now .. you can help me." Jim frowned and watched the black clouds flash white for a moment. "These people need to get inside. Let's tell them to clear out."

Skye nodded.

"Yes, sir."

As they walked along talking to the various people, a loud voice became clearer as it rose over the steady hum of the marketplace. They glanced around to see a tall girl in her late teens talking to a few other girls of similar ages. She wasn't very familiar to either Jim or Skye, but the latter thought they might've arrived on the same pilgrimage. She frowned, studying the group of girls as the original speaker kept talking.

"And they said she was going to visit him to get information out of him. K, but imagine .. going to get information out of Lucas and he's all sarcastic and stand-offish, but then .. he accidentally falls in love with you. Imagine being the beauty that tames .. the beast." The girl's friends started laughing and she joined in with them, laughing the loudest of all. One of her friends smacked her arm, feigning horror.

"Vicky!"

"I know!" Vicky put her face in her hands, still laughing. "I'm so bad!"

Jim could feel some of his brain cells melting and dripping out the back of his head. He glanced at Skye, who looked back at him with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. As Jim's dismayed face showed no signs of going anywhere, Skye began to laugh and tapped his arm.

"I'll go tell them. You keep going that way."

"You sure?" Jim looked like he was about to release her into the den of lions.

"Positive."

Skye grinned at Jim as he shrugged and began walking away.

"Okay."

Skye turned and walked towards the group of girls. As she approached, the group went dead silent and the girls watched her, glancing at each other with raised eyebrows. She cleared her throat.

"Time to move out. Take shelter. A storm's coming." Skye gestured to the rumbling clouds that were fast approaching.

The girls didn't appear to be concerned about the storm. One of them tilted her head.

"You're Skye, right?"

Skye nodded, well aware of the sort of stories they may have heard about her. Small colony. Big mouths.

"That's right."

Another girl stood up and studied Skye with a little smile.

"You go to see Taylor's son a lot, right? Lucas?"

Skye folded her arms.

"Yeah, I guess."

The standing girl raised her eyebrows as the others leaned forward.

"What's he like?"

Skye shifted.

"Look, we should really be getting under cover."

"Alright, alright." The girl waved her hand dismissively. "We will. I promise. Once you answer the question."

"What question?"

Skye's interrogator's smile grew knowingly.

"What is Lucas LIKE?"

Skye shrugged.

"He's .. smart."

".. smart." The girls glanced at each other. "Right."

"Now get inside. Quick!"

Skye darted off as the rain came, leaving the girls to hurriedly take shelter. In the confusion, none of them noticed the middle-aged man turn away with a thunderous expression that almost rivalled the storm. They hadn't even known he was there, or they might've wondered just how much of the conversation he had heard. Now he took a few determined steps forward, ignoring the heavy rain as he disappeared amongst the thinning crowd.

Skye joined Jim under a white shade cloth just before the next peal of thunder crashed down. He glanced at her.

"This isn't gonna hold the rain off for long. How'd it go?"

"Oh, fine. You know girls."

Jim gave her a comical look of confusion.

"Naturally."

Skye laughed as he pointed to an elderly couple struggling with their market equipment.

"Help them. I'll bring the Rover around to take them home. Hope you don't mind getting wet!"

Just as Skye reached the elderly couple, someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. She stared into the face of a terrified-looking young guard in surprise.

"Skye!" He grabbed her other arm and stared seriously into her face. "WHERE is Commander Shannon?!"

"Right there!" Skye pointed the soaking wet soldier in Jim's direction and he ran off in relief, throwing a word of thanks over his shoulder. She watched with a worried frown as he tore up to Jim, appearing to blurt out something alarming judging by the change in his commanding officer's expression. Jim glanced around, evidently looking for someone. As his eyes came to rest on Skye, he called her over.

"Skye! Get Elisabeth. Gareth and I will meet you at the brig. Hurry!"

As Jim and Gareth turned and hurried toward the bottom of the Command Centre, Skye fled off toward the Infirmary in the pouring rain.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Gareth shivered again as they entered the dark hallway to another almighty crack of thunder. He comforted himself with the fact that the rain was so cold, most people would probably put his shivers down to hypothermia. In reality, the last place he wanted to be was back in that dungeon of horrors. After he'd dragged Monica out of the brig and locked it firmly, he had fled the scene and left both unconscious parties down there. He didn't even know if either of them was still alive! What if they were both dead - one because he didn't arrive in time and one at his own hand?! He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

"Ohh, I don't feel so good."

"C'mon, Gareth."

Jim put an arm around the young soldier and directed him down the last few stairs and into the brig corridor. Even Josh was older than this boy. How had he ended up on the security team? As they approached, a limp body appeared out of the dim light. Monica was still lying where Gareth had dragged her a few minutes before. Jim knelt down beside her and groaned.

"Oh, Taylor, what have you done?"

As Gareth shone a torch on Monica's face, Jim assessed her wounds as best he could. Aside from a few bruises on her arms and neck, the main injury was on the side of her head. Her light auburn hair was darkened with blood. Gareth's breathing sped up again as he caught sight of her face. The colour had completely drained from it and she was white as a sheet. The foggy atmosphere and distant flashes of lightning only served to reinforce his horrified assumption that she was, in fact, dead.

"She's not dead."

Jim's reassuring comment came out of nowhere as if he had read the boy's thoughts.

"The blood's clotted. That's got to be a good sign .. WHERE is Elisabeth?!"

The distant sound of footsteps from above became louder in reply, and Elisabeth's voice echoed down to them.

"Jim? I'm coming! We're coming."

As Elisabeth rounded the corner with Skye close behind, both Jim and Gareth breathed a huge sigh of relief. Jim stepped back to let his wife do her job and turned to Gareth once again.

"Where is Taylor?"

"In there." Gareth gestured to the brig. "I, uh .. shot him .. with my sonic .. several times .."

"We better check on him then. He might have stopped breathing." Jim unlocked the brig door and looked over his shoulder at Gareth. "Give Skye the torch. You're coming with me."

Gareth took an unsteady breath and did as he was told. Jim knelt beside Taylor, who was crumpled in the corner of the brig in not so different a position as his counsellor had been outside.

"He's breathing, but he's out cold. If you shot him like you said you did, he's gonna have some nasty bruises when he wakes up. Maybe a few broken ribs." Jim patted Taylor's face gently, and then more roughly when the unconscious man didn't respond.

"Taylor! Hey, Taylor, wake up."

Nathaniel stirred and then groaned, lifting a leaden arm up to grip his chest. He opened his heavy eyelids to stare at Gareth.

"You .. You shot me."

Gareth gulped.

"Yes, sir."

"I'll repay you for this someday, son. You best watch your back."

Gareth looked horrified, but said nothing. Jim pushed Nathaniel back down as he tried to sit up.

"Lie down. Where does it hurt?"

Nathaniel laughed gruffly.

"Where doesn't it hurt? .. but I guess that happens when someone shoots you three times with a sonic." He stared pointedly at Gareth, who was still standing behind Jim.

"Four times."

"What was that?"

Gareth cleared his throat.

"I .. shot you four times. Not three."

Nathaniel suddenly appeared to be in perfectly good humour. He held his ribs and tossed out a short laugh.

"Good grief, son, don't you know better than to shoot an unconscious man?!"

Gareth didn't answer, but Elisabeth's voice called in from the passageway.

"Can one of you come and help carry the stretcher? I'm almost positive Dr. Karlpring has internal bleeding causing a pressure build-up on her brain. We need to get her to the Infirmary so I can operate."

At Jim's nod, Gareth ran off to help, while Taylor painfully removed his shirt. After some assistance from his former sheriff, the problematic item of clothing came off and Jim whistled as he surveyed the damage.

"Nice. You're gonna be black and blue for a while."

"Ah, what else is new?" Taylor leaned back against the wall and grumbled. "I'll heal. Always do."

As Jim carefully wrapped Nathaniel's ribs with some bandages Elisabeth had left, he glanced up at his patient.

"So why'd you hit her?"

"Oh, that." Taylor adopted a careless tone. "Yeah, I'm real sorry about that."

He didn't sound sorry in the least, but Jim ignored that and continued.

"You didn't answer the question, Commander."

Taylor shrugged as best he could without moving his chest.

"I dunno, Shannon, she pushed too hard. I snapped. Sometimes, you just snap." He laughed. "Happens to the best of us."

Jim tied the ends off and sat back to survey his work. After a few moments, he nodded to himself and raised his chin to stare into Nathaniel's face.

"You could've killed her, Taylor."

"You're too soft, Shannon. Always have been."

"And you're too quick to execute punishment."

The two men's eyes flashed judgementally at each other until Taylor finally curled his lip and shook his head.

"You're too weak for this job. I've been saying it all along. I tried to give you a chance. Tried to encourage you, toughen you up. But in the end, people never change, do they? Gotta be tough to do this job, Shannon. Gotta make hard choices."

Jim shook his head in disgust.

"Do you hear yourself? You put an innocent woman in the Infirmary."

"Casualties of war."

"So that's how it is, huh?" Jim stood up and dusted himself off. "You're still fighting a war. And you're willing to hurt innocent people to win it."

"Like I said, Shannon." Taylor met his gaze confidently. "Sometimes you gotta make tough decisions."

Jim shook his head again and walked toward the door.

"I don't even know who you are anymore, Taylor. But you want a tough decision? Here it is."

Jim exited the brig, making Nathaniel jump as he slammed the heavy brig door violently behind him.

* * *

"What's your point?!"

"I'm just saying, you don't have the best track record with staying on topic."

Skye scoffed indignantly.

"I'm not the one who insists on having deep and meaningful discussions."

Lucas laughed and held his hands up in surrender.

"Alright then .. We'll split the blame and call it even."

As Skye opened her mouth to protest further, he hurriedly reverted back to their previous topic.

"So you asked about the device I used to communicate with the future while still in Terra Nova."

Skye allowed him to continue on uninterrupted. She had headed straight to his house once Elisabeth had released her, picking up her Plex on the way over. She'd left the Infirmary staff celebrating. The surgery had gone well, and Monica was going to be alright. Once upon a time, these surgeries would've taken much longer, but with modern technology, it was over fairly soon. Good thing for Monica, too. Elisabeth didn't think she would've been able to hold on for much longer. The counsellor was well-liked amongst the colonists. They were all relieved she was going to be okay.

"Are you even listening?" Lucas had paused and was staring at her curiously. Skye shook herself and turned the Plex back on.

"Yeah, sorry. You said something about the Eye .. ?"

Lucas patiently repeated his previous sentence.

"The Eye is capable of more than most people think. I should know, I helped build it."

Skye frowned.

"You helped build the Eye?"

Lucas nodded with a dry smile.

"Believe it or not, I did actual work as well as my .. side projects."

"I guess that makes sense. Wait." Skye tilted her head and squinted at him. "Are you saying the Eye can talk to the future?"

Lucas said nothing for a moment, enjoying her increasing interest. When he was satisfied, he finally answered.

"Not by itself, but in connection with another device .. yes."

"What device?"

"It's small. Say, this big?" He held his fingers up a few inches apart. "Plugs into the Eye and broadcasts a signal through the fracture, like I told you Mira's did. I still don't know how she got her device, but that's how I used to talk to them."

"Does it still work? Where is it?"

"Woah, one question at a time, chatterbox."

Skye glared at him as he waited quietly with his hands folded in his lap for her to ask a single question. Finally, she sighed and shook her head.

"Where is it?"

"Dunno. I lost it."

As Skye stared at him in disbelief, Lucas couldn't stop the grin from breaking out onto his face. She watched him uncertainly.

".. you're kidding."

"Yes." Lucas continued laughingly. "It's probably still in my sack out there somewhere." He gestured lazily out the window. "After Mira finally delivered the Box and we could actually go back to the future, it kind of became obsolete."

"Would it still work?"

"Don't see why not, assuming someone on the other side was still listening for the signal." Lucas clasped his hands together and leaned his chin on them, staring past her and out the window thoughtfully. "Although they might've assumed the eruption of Hope Plaza destroyed the means of communication."

"You don't think it did?"

"Oh, maybe from their end it did. Who knows?" Lucas shrugged. "Won't stop them for long, though."

Skye tapped the Plex against her chin.

"Maybe we should send someone out there to go get it."

Lucas shook his head.

"Probably wouldn't end well."

"For you, you mean."

Lucas didn't answer, and no matter what Skye said after that, he wouldn't give her the location. Eventually she gave up and began inputting the information into the Plex. Lucas watched her for a while before picking up a faulty object Malcolm had left. As he began dissecting it, Skye muttered, glancing up at him,

"He hurt someone badly today, you know - your Dad."

Lucas nodded, watching her expressionlessly. After a few moments, he blinked.

"What, you expected me to be surprised?"

"Guess not." They were both silent for a few seconds before Skye added, "She's gonna be okay. You know, just in case you were wondering."

"Good. I'm glad."

Another few seconds of silence, and Skye turned back to the screen in her lap. Lucas stared off out the window and listened to the gentle tapping, his device evidently forgotten on the couch beside him. They sat like this for the next 5 minutes until Lucas' voice finally broke into the comfortable silence.

"Can I ask you a question, Skye?"

"Hmm? What?" Skye was busy taking notes on the Plex.

"Do you think time really heals all wounds?"

She looked up at him. Lucas was playing with a loose string on the couch and seemed like he was miles away. As she studied him, he looked up to meet her gaze. There was no hint of sorrow or remorse in his face; he simply looked interested. She shrugged.

"To a certain extent. Some wounds are too deep, I suppose. They can never be healed completely."

Lucas seemed to accept this answer. He nodded and changed the subject.

"I'm done, you know. You've bled me dry."

He smiled momentarily at Skye's confused frown.

"I've given you everything I know."

"Oh."

He got up and went to the window, Skye turning and watching him closely as he walked past. No matter how well she got to know him, she could never turn her back on him. Her time with him had only cemented that fact. He was naturally unpredictable. She had to remind herself to keep her guard up. As she moved to the couch he had recently vacated so she could see him better, Lucas sighed quietly.

"Guess this really is it, huh? You won't be coming around anymore."

He appeared to be speaking to some unknown entity on the other side of the glass. Skye picked up the device on the couch beside her and studied it.

"Guess not."

"Well, it's been .."

She waited a few minutes for him to finish the sentence, but he never did. After watching him for a little while, Skye finally rolled her head back in resignation.

"Lucas .. do you play chess?"

He turned back from the window with a confused smile.

"Once. An eternity ago. Why?"

"Guess I'll bring the chess board next time. You might happen to think of some more information once your mind gets moving."

Lucas nodded, unable to contain a grin.

"Good thinking."

Skye shrugged.

"Can't let myself get too rusty. All of my previous chess partners-"

She was interrupted by the horrible sound of a man's tormented scream coming from across the street. After exchanging an apprehensive glance with Lucas, Skye went cautiously to the door. As she turned the knob to open it, the door was flung open in her face and she was thrown aside against the wall. Lucas stared in surprise as a bald middle-age man charged past Skye and into the house like a furious bull.

_"YOU." _

As the stranger swung a pistol around and headed straight for Lucas, Skye pushed herself away from the wall and slowly approached behind him. The man grabbed Lucas' neck and shoved him against the other wall with the gun pressed against his chest.

"They told me you were here. I didn't believe them. But here you are." The man was apparently waiting for Lucas to offer some form of explanation. When he stayed silent, the man continued.

"You killed my daughter. My baby girl." Tears entered the man's eyes and ran down his red cheeks. "She was killed in your occupation. And now you're going to die for it."

As the man cocked his pistol, the warning sound of another pistol charging up came from his left side. He glanced around to see Skye's sonic very close to his face.

"I'd reconsider that." As the man seemed to hesitate, Skye frowned. "Who are you? I haven't seen you before."

The man tearfully gazed at her.

"Hank. Hank Simms. My daughter Gloria was .. not much older than you. And HE is the reason she's gone. THIS is the monster that KILLED my DAUGHTER!"

"Gloria .." Skye had been edging across as the man was speaking. Now, she was almost right beside Hank's gun. "Gloria Simms. I think I remember her. She was a nurse, right?"

Hank glared at her.

"Yes, she was, and a good one. Now put that gun away, missy. If you're gonna come at me with a gun, it best not be a nonlethal one." He pressed his own gun harder into Lucas' chest until the latter closed his eyes and pressed his lips together in order to stop himself from crying out in pain. Skye raised her sonic to the man's eyes.

"It may not be lethal from a distance, but it'll make you go blind pretty easily. Take your gun off him."

Hank laughed despairingly and lowered his gun for a moment, giving Skye just enough time to slip in between. He raised his gun again, pointing it at her this time.

"You're a stupid girl. Protecting this murderer. You can't even _comprehend _the crimes he's committed, the evil inside of him."

"You'd be surprised." Skye took a deep breath as she felt the cold gun against her own forehead. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. She raised her chin slowly and looked Hank in the eye.

"Yes, he deserves to be shot. I'd be the first person to agree to that. I'd shoot him myself-"

"You have." came a muttered voice from just behind her. "Twice."

"Shut up." Skye muttered back and attempted to smile reassuringly at the angry man in front of her - not an easy feat when you have to stare past a threatening pistol to do it.

"Look, put the gun away .. or shoot me, too. Gloria wouldn't have wanted two casualties and a blind father on her conscience."

"Maybe not. But it'd make me feel better."

Still, he did nothing. Skye felt Lucas begin to move behind her.

"Don't."

He immediately stopped moving. Hank smiled threateningly up at him.

"On the contrary. Please continue. Stop using this little girl as a shield and be a man. Be the killer you are. Come get me."

As they stared at each other, another voice broke into the tense silence from across the room.

"Put the gun down."

The room was silent again as they all turned to look at the new person. Skye felt Lucas' hands on her shoulders too late. As he pushed her out of the way, Hank took aim again and three shots were fired in quick succession. Within the space of a second, the guard was the only one left standing.

Skye jumped up from where she had landed on the ground. Her sonic and the guard's had gone off at the same time, with the same target. Both Hank and Lucas were lying on the ground, gasping for air. As the guard disarmed Hank, Skye followed Lucas' gaze to the bullet hole in the wall. It had narrowly missed him as he dived sideways, but the same move that had saved his life had thrown him into the path of the sonic blasts intended for his neighbour. In the confusion, both had been hit, and as such, both now lay prone on the floor, gasping for the air that had been driven out of their lungs by the charge. Skye holstered her gun, mentally thanking Jim for giving it back to her when he did. If she hadn't had it, things probably would have ended up much differently. She knelt beside Lucas as Hank was pulled up and cuffed.

"You okay?" As he nodded, his breathing gradually returning to normal, she smiled apologetically. "I think I may have just shot you again. Sorry."

Lucas laughed breathlessly and dropped his head back onto the floor.

"I think I can forgive you. Just this once." He patted her knee. "Thanks."

"Hey, I'm in security now, remember?" Skye stood up and looked down at him, repeating Reilly's words from that morning. "'It's what we do.'"

As Lucas got up, Jim and Reilly burst into the room, pistols raised. When they realised all was well, the guns were holstered and Hank was escorted out. Jim followed with the intention of "having a chat" with the guard. After a quick explanation of what had happened, Reilly examined the bullet hole in the wall.

"You were lucky." She turned to look at them. "Both of you."

Skye folded her arms.

"What's gonna happen to him?"

Reilly shrugged.

"Be brig, I suppose. Now." She turned to Lucas, who was sitting on the couch again, nursing his sore body. "Lucas, I'll send Dr. Shannon over soon. You gonna be okay until then?"

At Lucas' nod, Reilly turned sternly to Skye.

"And you .."

Skye stared at her, looking a little scared. Reilly raised an eyebrow.

"You and I have got to have a little talk. Come on."

With that, Reilly walked off and Skye was left with nothing but to follow her outside, casting a last nervous glance over her shoulder at Lucas. As they stepped through the doorway into the open air, Reilly turned to Skye with her arms folded.

"Alright, first I want to say that when your proper training commences, remind me to base your first lesson on "How Not To Be a Human Shield"."

Skye smiled awkwardly and nodded.

".. right."

"Secondly .." Reilly smiled as Skye prepared herself for the stinging rebuke. Instead, she punched the newest member of her team gently on the shoulder.

"Good work in there, Private."

Skye looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Oh. Thanks."

"No thanks needed. You did good."

".. and you just left your post with no backup?"

Reilly and Skye turned to see Jim rubbing his temples as the guard stood awkwardly in front of him, attempting to explain himself.

"But someone needed help! Honestly, sir, if you had only heard the scream."

"Scream or nothing, you should've called for backup first. Never just abandon your post. Wait for someone to relieve you before running off, understand?"

The humiliated soldier nodded and Jim ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Get in the Rover. Let's take him to the brig."

As the soldier went to get in the driver's seat, Jim put a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh, no. I'm driving."

Reilly shot Skye a look as the Rover drove off.

"Commander's not happy."

As Reynolds walked over to take the place of the old guard, Reilly nudged Skye.

"Come on. Looks like it's about to rain again. I'll walk you home."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Elisabeth entered Lucas' house early the next morning as he was washing up his bowl.

"Doc." He nodded to her as he placed the bowl on the sink and went around the other side of the kitchen to lean against the lounge. "Been a while."

"Hi, sorry I couldn't get here sooner." She placed her bag on the table apologetically while the guard watched from the kitchen. "We had a bit of a situation last night."

Lucas shrugged with a smile.

"No offence, but you didn't need to come at all, you know. I'm fine."

Elisabeth laughed.

"Ah, that's what they all say. You let me be the judge." She rummaged about in her bag for a moment before glancing up at him. "Shirt off."

He remained behind the couch and looked around.

"What do you think of the house? Better than the brig, anyway."

"It's nice!" Elisabeth smiled, watching him. "Now, quick. I do have other patients to see."

With a glance at the guard, Lucas rolled his eyes and obeyed. Elisabeth winced. He had bruising all over his chest and up his left arm.

"That must've been hard to sleep on last night."

"Yeah, I guess. I've had to deal with worse." He smiled at her. "You probably know that better than most people."

Elisabeth smiled to herself and resisted the urge to praise him on how very tough he was. These boys. Instead, she gestured to the couch.

"Still, we'd better make sure those ribs aren't broken. Sit down please."

He recognised her no-nonsense doctor tone and sat down obediently.

Over the next half an hour, he was poked and prodded with various cold objects and was eventually pronounced fit for everyday existence.

"Congratulations!" Elisabeth smiled mischievously. "You'll survive .. probably."

"Great." He replaced his shirt and leaned back as Elisabeth handed him a small tub of something.

"Put this on the bruising and in a week or so, it should be gone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd better run off. I have to pick up some medical supplies from the Infirmary before the rest of my house calls."

"Sure." Lucas stood up as she prepared to leave the room, unsure why he did so. "Thanks."

Elisabeth picked up her bag and studied him for a moment. There were still hints of the sullen invalid that had ended up in her care a couple of months ago, but the events of the past weeks had brought about a subtle change in Lucas. He seemed less agitated, more content, almost happy. As he returned her farewell smile, she almost had trouble believing that the violence and rage they all knew he was capable of still existed inside of him somewhere. Still, she reasoned with herself as she left the building, if the recent downfall of Commander Taylor had proven anything, it was that everyone had a dark side - the Taylors more so than most people.

* * *

"Malcolm! Malcolm, where are you?"

Malcolm rounded the corner in annoyance and came face to face with the voice that had been incessantly plaguing him for the past few minutes. He scowled at Jim.

"What?!"

Jim smiled, resisting the overpowering urge to respond with "Nothing." Instead, he decided to get right to the point.

"I need you to come take a look at some CC footage. Now."

Malcolm smiled back politely.

"You know, I can't just come running at your every beck and call. I just finished lunch, I still have LOADS to do, and, by the way, I'm still working on the last thing you 'asked' me to do - Commander Taylor's security equipment."

"And I'm sure it's coming along great, but I really need you to come take a look at this."

"Fine." Malcolm cast aside his lab coat. "What else am I here for?"

Jim gave him a thumbs up and vanished out the door.

"That's the spirit!"

When Malcolm arrived at the Command Centre a few minutes later, the first person he saw was not Jim, but Skye, looking through one of the cupboards as quietly as possible. He walked in behind her and folded his arms.

"And what are we doing?"

Skye almost jumped out of her skin and turned around smiling.

"Ah, Doctor Wallace. Good to see you."

Malcolm stared at her, unmoved. Skye relented.

"Fine. I wasn't doing anything suspicious, I swear."

Malcolm was on the verge of pointing that that was exactly what a suspicious person would say when Skye appeared to realise it herself. She turned around hurriedly and continued rummaging through the cupboard for a moment.

"I was just looking .. for .. this."

She pulled the chess board and a box of pieces out and showed them to Malcolm, shutting the cupboard behind her. He didn't look entirely convinced, but at that moment, Jim came out to see what was going on.

"Good, you're here, Malcolm. Oh!" He noticed Skye, trying her best to become invisible in the corner. "Skye. Perfect! Come in, both of you."

He escorted them both inside to where Reilly was waiting and shut the door. As he went to the table, Jim caught sight of what Skye was holding.

"You came to get that?" He frowned. "I thought you already had a chess set."

Skye opened her mouth to offer some form of awkward explanation, but an exclamation from Malcolm cut her off.

"No way! Is that what I think it is?!" This question was apparently addressed to Reilly, who shrugged.

"You're supposed to be the expert."

"I _am_ the expert." Malcolm corrected her as they all looked to the screens. "But I've never seen one of those here, much less living."

"What is it? Looks like some sort of long-legged prehistoric crocodile."

They were all startled by one of Malcolm's legendary snorts.

"THAT .. is a Kaprosuchus, which is .. well, it's .. basically a sort of long-legged amphibious prehistoric crocodile." Skye and Jim smiled to themselves, while Reilly looked vaguely annoyed. Malcolm ignored them all and continued.

"But this one is absolutely massive, especially for a carnivorous quadruped. It must be at least 6 metres long! I've never in my life heard of one this big before!"

"One what? Kaprosuchus or .." Jim accented his consonants to an almost ridiculous degree. ".. 'carnivorous quadruped'?"

Malcolm glared at him.

"Kaprosuchus, obviously. Honestly, Jim, one would think you'd never seen a Spinosaur before."

"Then one would be very much surprised .."

Jim smiled and looked around, but no one in the room could confirm his statement, so he returned to their previous topic, looking somewhat subdued.

"The tower guards caught sight of it hanging around the boundary fence this morning. They didn't think it could get in, and - here." Jim pointed to the screen. "It appears to just get bored and wander off."

"It'll be back." Malcolm's voice of doom echoed around the small room. "It's just scoping out the terrain .. and if it's been in here once .." He glanced meaningfully at Jim, who suddenly grasped what he was referring to.

"You think your flying crocodile bird .. was that thing?"

"Makes sense. Although how it got in, I'm not sure."

Reilly turned to Skye.

"Was that what you and Curran saw in the woods yesterday?"

"Yesterday." Skye repeated. It had been yesterday. Seemed like a long time ago. "I think so. It just watched us from the bushes though, so I didn't see it very clearly."

"I can't lock down the colony again unless we're sure it's a threat." Jim frowned at the blurry picture in front of him. "So what do we do, just wait and see?"

Malcolm shrugged.

"Until we know more about it, I'm not sure there's much we can do. If it's going to be a danger to us .. we'll know soon enough."

* * *

"Shh, come on, just for a few minutes."

"I dunno .."

The hushed whispers cut through the quiet night.

"You owe me a favour anyway, Douglas."

"Two minutes. Be quick."

Lucas awoke to the gentle sound of his door swinging in. He opened his eyes to see a dark figure in the doorway, silhouetted by the moonlight. As the figure began approaching, he closed his eyes again, listening.

Vicky took a few hesitating steps closer. What had seemed like a funny and daring idea a few moments ago was hurriedly losing its appeal as the quiet atmosphere of the dark house began to get to her. There was no noise other than the subtle rustling of the white sheets overhead and the faint sound of Lucas' breathing. She moved closer again, as quietly as she could. She could just make out his dark form on the couch. This would be easier than she thought. She just needed one picture .. Taking out her tag, she pushed away the wild impulse to hide as the transparent screen lit up the room with an eerie glow. Just one picture .. She attempted to slow her breathing down as she watched Lucas closely. She could just make out his features now. He lay there, breathing softly as he slept. He didn't look so dangerous. She turned and lifted up the tag to take her picture, but as she glanced at the screen, her stomach dropped in horror.

The couch was empty.

The only thing left on it was a crumpled blanket where Lucas had been lying a moment ago.

"Who are you?" The low voice right behind her ear made Vicky spin around with a gasp. Lucas' pale eyes reflected the glow of her tag. She was about to tell him her name, but stopped herself just in time.

"No name, huh? Smartest move you've made so far."

Vicky wasn't sure if he was complimenting her on her ability to handle interrogation or degrading her intelligence, but either way, she found she didn't like it very much. Lucas watched her threateningly, like a cat watching a trapped mouse. He wasn't much taller than her, but somehow in that moment, she felt very small. He began to circle slowly around her, still speaking in the same low warning tone.

"They say there's a fine line between courage .." His voice came from the other side, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. ".. and stupidity. In your case, I'm inclined to believe it's the latter."

Just as he appeared in front of her again, her tag light went out. Vicky let out a panic-stricken sob as the darkness closed in.

"I don't like people coming into my house uninvited." The gravelly voice spoke out of the dark void in front of her as the sound of a distant howl came through the window. "Consider this your warning. I never want to see you, or any of your little friends here again. If you ever come back, there isn't anywhere you can run to that I won't be able to find you. It's a small colony."

Scared as she was, Vicky managed to tap her tag light back on. Lucas was still in the same position, watching her expressionlessly.

"Do you understand?"

She nodded.

"I-I'm sorry."

"I don't accept apologies from people I care nothing about."

Lucas smiled then, but somehow what should have softened his demeanour only made him appear more threatening. She froze as he leaned forward and whispered quietly.

"Now. I'll give you 5 seconds to get out of my house."

Lucas leaned back and watched her unblinkingly. She stared back at him, unable to move. His face darkened a little and the smile disappeared.

"3."

Vicky gasped and took a few unsteady steps backward before turning and running for her life out the door.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

"Hey, I know your little force field is there to keep me in, but is there no way to keep people out?"

"What do you mean?" Malcolm didn't look up at him, but kept attempting to pry the casing off his current subject. Lucas stared at Malcolm seriously and fiddled with his screwdriver.

"I mean the little visitor I had last night. You think this colony's ever gonna trust me if I have teenage girls sneaking into my house at all hours of the night?"

Malcolm almost dropped his device, finally giving Lucas his full attention.

"What?!"

"Check the security footage. See for yourself."

Malcolm hurriedly put down what he was working on and picked up a recently revived Plex. As he flicked it on and connected it to the security feeds, he suddenly paused and stared at Lucas suspiciously.

"This better not be another one of your tricks."

Lucas watched him gravely, evidently not in a teasing mood.

"Scout's honour."

"Hm."

Malcolm began flicking through last night's footage.

"Looks fine to me-wait." He squinted at the screen with a perturbed frown. "What does she think she's doing?!"

Lucas said nothing, but continued working on his little handheld bread toaster. Every few seconds, a new remark would come from Malcolm's direction.

"Is she taking a picture? This is ridiculous!"

"You're talking too softly. I can't hear you."

"Oh, please tell me she isn't .."

"What on earth did you say?! You scared the living daylights out of her!"

After this last comment, he dropped the Plex into his lap and stared accusingly at Lucas, who looked up defiantly to meet his gaze.

"She looked like she'd seen a ghost. What did you say?!"

"I told her she better leave and never come back. I never wanted her to come in the first place. I've never seen her before. Believe whatever you like, it's the truth." He went back to unscrewing the power source from the device in annoyed silence.

Malcolm studied his student for a moment and decided to say nothing more about it. Instead, he watched closely as Lucas skilfully replaced the power source and put the working toaster back together. When he had finished, Malcolm nodded approvingly.

"Getting pretty good at those, aren't you? Maybe I'll have to find something harder to bring you next time. Wouldn't want you getting bored."

Lucas finally smiled as he laid aside the repaired device.

"It's not so hard once you get the hang of it. I understand most of the theory behind how they work, but actually making them work again is .. interesting."

"Still, I have to admit, you're learning quickly." Malcolm stood up and Lucas helped him put the working devices into his box and sort the scraps into a bag he always brought, as had become their system. As Malcolm walked past, he paused and pulled something out of the box, holding it out to Lucas.

"Oops, don't forget your screwdriver."

"Oh." Lucas accepted it, spinning it around in his hand distractedly. "Thanks."

Malcolm hesitated for a moment.

"Thank you .. for the help."

Lucas smiled at the researcher's back as Malcolm retreated out the door.

* * *

"She .. wait, what? Run that by me again." Jim sat down at the Commander's desk and stared at Malcolm in growing dismay. Malcolm handed him the Plex and explained the situation to the best of his ability. Jim finally placed the device down gently on the desk and looked up at Malcolm solemnly.

"Any idea who the guard was?"

Malcolm shook his head.

"It wasn't on the footage."

Jim stood up and went to the open window, leaning on the sill and shaking his head.

"Two people in two days, Malcolm. This is unacceptable."

Malcolm said nothing. He rarely saw Jim like this. The Commander appeared perfectly calm on the outside, but he could sense the simmering fury underlying his cool words.

"Do you know who the girl is?"

"I .. believe so."

Jim turned and nodded.

"Right. Bring her to me."

Malcolm spluttered indignantly.

"I'm not your errand boy!"

Jim laughed emotionlessly and walked past Malcolm, patting his shoulder.

"You're right. Sorry, Malcolm."

He picked up his handheld radio from a table in the corner of the room.

"Reilly. It's Jim. I need to see the soldier that was guarding Lucas' house last night at .."

"2:00 am." Malcolm whispered helpfully. Jim nodded his thanks.

".. 2:00 am this morning. Over."

Reilly's scratchy reply came over the radio, but Malcolm couldn't quite make it out. Judging by Jim's response, though, it was satisfactory.

"Thanks. Yeah, in the Command Centre. Send him up. Great. Over and out." He turned to Malcolm.

"Now we'll hear what he has to say for himself."

The young guard entered a few moments later looking thoroughly terrified. Jim gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

"Sit down, Brenner."

Douglas sat gingerly down in the chair. Jim folded his hands on the desk and looked him in the eye.

"Do you know why you're here, Douglas?"

The soldier shook his head.

"No, sir."

"You allowed a young woman into Lucas Taylor's house last night. Why?"

"A .. girl?" Douglas squeaked and shook his head again. "I didn't see a girl!"

Jim smiled at Malcolm and spread his hands out in front of him.

"He didn't see a girl."

Malcolm smiled back.

"If his eyesight is really that bad, he may need to be discharged on the basis of physical incapacity."

"Hm." Jim nodded as Douglas' eyes widened. "Or maybe he just needs to eat more carrots."

Malcolm snorted softly as Jim leaned forward again.

"Nowhere to run, Brenner. We have the security footage."

Douglas glanced from Jim to Malcolm and back again.

"It was perfectly innocent, I swear."

"What was?"

"Her reason for wanting to get into the house."

"So he _DID_ see her!" Jim sighed and exchanged a smile with Malcolm again. "His eyesight mustn't be as bad as we feared. What a relief." He leaned forward. "Of course, that means that you let a young girl into the house of a dangerous criminal under house arrest .. at night .. when you were on duty .. and so, now we have another problem. What do you have to say for yourself, Douglas?"

Douglas swallowed and attempted to look brave.

"Very well. I'll tell you everything."

"Well, go on then."

"Vicky is a friend of mine. She came up to me last night .. well, I guess it was early this morning .. and told me she wanted to go inside. Just to take a picture to prove she'd done it and then she'd get out again. He wouldn't even notice she was there. At first, I said no, but she forced me to let her in, so-"

"She forced you. What did she do, Douglas, perform some type of exotic kung-fu on you that left you paralysed for five minutes while she went inside?"

An odd spluttering sound burst out of Malcolm from a few feet away. As he skilfully turned it into a cough, Douglas stared down at the desk sullenly.

"I owed her a favour."

"A favour. Must've been a terrible favour that you'd let her court death in order to repay it." Jim remarked smoothly and began to tap his fingers on the desk.

"No, you don't understand-"

"No, I DON'T understand." Jim stood up suddenly, banging his hands down on the desk and making the other two jump. "I don't understand why a soldier that has been on the security team for three years, who lived through the occupation and who was responsible for guarding Lucas Taylor's house would blatantly disobey his orders and let one of his own friends in at the risk of destroying his own career as well as putting another civilian's life in danger. Does that make sense to you, Malcolm?!"

Malcolm shook his head gravely. Jim turned back to Brenner, who was sitting with his head down and his breath coming in fast bursts.

"If you don't already understand the seriousness of what you've done, I don't know what to say to you. You're suspended."

Douglas looked up in horror.

"No, sir!"

"YES, SIR." Jim walked around the desk and stood beside Brenner's chair. "In a month, Sergeant Reilly will reassess you. In the meantime, I'll let her know that you're not to serve in security until further notice. Hand in your service weapon and report to the cleaning crew in the morning. Dismissed."

"But-"

"DISMISSED."

Brenner had little choice but to get up and leave. Jim watched him go as Reilly walked in past him, herding a tall teenage girl in front of her. Douglas shot the girl a cold look of hatred before disappearing from view.

"Vicky Irving." Reilly explained to the two men in the room.

"Thank you, Sergeant."

Reilly nodded in response before leaving the girl with them and following Brenner outside. Jim gestured to the recently vacated chair in front of him as he returned to his seat behind the desk.

"Take a seat."

Vicky was white as a sheet, looking as though she still hadn't recovered from the shock of last night. She sat down in silence. Jim studied her, willing himself to calm down. Finally, he spoke.

"I assume you know why you're here."

Vicky nodded, but said nothing.

"Do you realise the danger you put yourself in last night?"

She nodded again and looked up at Jim, tears coming into her eyes.

"I'm sorry. It was stupid. I'm so sorry."

As she put her head into her hands and sobbed, Jim looked up helplessly at Malcolm. The researcher blinked back at him. Jim rolled his eyes and turned back to Vicky.

"Look, you appear to have had enough of a shock to stop you from attempting the same thing again. The way I see it, most of the blame lies with Brenner. BUT-" as she looked shakily up at him "-you're still getting cleaning duty for the next month. And if I ever, EVER catch you anywhere near that house again, it'll be the brig. Got it?"

Vicky's eyes widened at the thought of being thrown in the brig and she nodded tearfully.

"I'm sorry. I'll be happy if I never lay eyes on that house again."

With that, she burst into a new fit of tears and Reilly was called back to escort her out. When they were gone, Malcolm turned to Jim with a disapproving frown.

"Let her off a bit lightly, didn't you?"

"You saw the footage, Malcolm. He terrified her. She'll be out of her mind if she ever tries to go back."

Malcolm shrugged in reluctant agreement.

"Yeah, I s'pose so."

Jim shook his head and stood up abruptly.

"This is unacceptable, Wallace. Something has to be done before it gets any worse."

Malcolm frowned at the strange use of his last name as he watched Jim run his hand through his hair. The Commander was at his wits' end. He needed help. No matter what he thought of Jim sometimes, Malcolm wasn't one to refuse anyone help when they really needed it. He stepped forward.

"Look, why don't you send out an announcement. Anyone else that goes near Lucas' house gets thrown into the brig!"

Jim looked at him in exhaustion.

"Do you think they'll listen?"

Malcolm shrugged.

"They better, or they'll end up in the brig."

Jim grinned.

"You know, Malcolmus, I'm beginning to think you just like throwing people in the brig."

Malcolm raised his eyebrows superciliously.

"Well, if it works .."

Later that day, an announcement went out:

"From this point forward, any unauthorised person seen in or near

Lucas Taylor's house will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

* * *

"You don't need to worry, sir. We have a plan."

The grey-haired man laughed and shook his head.

"You always do, Mira. That's why I hired you."

Mira stared at the projection as it leaned forward in its armchair.

"We do have one problem. My men are getting restless. They refuse to put up with the Phoenix soldiers any longer. Once we get Lucas back, they're planning on setting out on their own again."

Her employer shrugged.

"Let them. Mira, I told you to observe and not act because it was the time for observation and not action. Once Dr. Taylor has rebuilt the Portal Terminus, your job will be finished and you'll be free to return as per our agreement." He smiled. "I know at least one person who will be especially glad to see you."

He gestured to someone out of her view and the breath caught in her throat as a young girl ran in to lean on the side of his armchair. The child looked at the hologram in front of her with eager eyes.

"Mom?"

"Sienna."

The word was barely audible, but the man on the other side caught it and turned to the girl.

"Yes. Sienna has been working on her drawings." He nudged the little girl and she ran off. Her sudden disappearance drew a small gasp from her mother.

"Oh, don't worry. She'll come back. She wants to show you her pictures." The man shook his head and laughed. "She's been obsessed with dinosaurs lately."

Mira laughed weakly as the girl came running back with a clear tablet and jumped onto the man's lap, extracting an "Oof!" from him in the process. She tapped the glowing screen a couple of times and turned it in her mother's direction. The pictures were almost impossible to see in the fuzzy hologram, but Mira was content just to see her daughter's small face light up when she praised her artwork.

"It's beautiful, baby."

"It's an ank .. ankle .."

"Ankylosaurus." Her guardian supplied.

Sienna nodded eagerly at him.

"Yes! Ankylosaurus." She repeated the word carefully before turning back to Mira. "Have you seen any of those dinosaurs yet, Mommy?"

Mira blinked hard and willed herself furiously not to cry in front of her man guarding the tent door. She laughed.

"Yes, baby. Lots of them."

Her daughter squirmed excitedly at the prospect. After a moment's nervous hesitation, she burst out,

"When can I come see them?!"

Mira's smile fell and she glanced worriedly at her employer, who shrugged. Turning back to her daughter, she tried to reply as gently as she could.

"I'll be home soon, Sienna. We're going to live in one of those lovely domes together, remember?"

Sienna's face fell and her big dark eyes filled with tears.

"But .. I want to live in the dinosaur place with you."

"It's too dangerous, baby. We'll be much happier in a nice clean dome."

"But .." Sienna glanced quickly at the man who held her. He smiled calmly back at her, but Mira could see him tense. He was expecting fireworks. Sienna didn't disappoint. As her guardian gently extracted the tablet from her grasp, Sienna jumped off his lap and balled her small hands into fists.

"No! I hate it here! It's dirty and it stinks and makes me sick! I don't want to live in a stupid old dome! I want to live with you and the dinosaurs!"

She tore out of the room, and no matter how much Mira called, she wouldn't come back. The man leaned forward, laying the tablet aside.

"She really misses you, but don't worry. We're taking good care of her. She's healthier than she's ever been, and providing you finish your mission, you'll be home to see her soon enough."

Mira scowled at him.

"Did you tell her she would be able to come here?"

"No, of course not! But you know kids .." Her employer smiled and raised his hands in resignation. "She'll be alright."

Mira sighed.

"I'll let you know how we get on. Thank you .." she added just before ending the transmission ".. for taking care of her."

The man smiled.

"My pleasure. Really, we've grown quite attached to her ourselves."

Mira wasn't sure how to take this piece of information, so her last sentence was spoken in her usual gruff business tone.

"All going well, I'll see you in person in a few weeks."

"God willing." The man nodded seriously at her. "Over and out."

As Mira switched off her equipment, she heard an unexpected voice from behind her.

"Cute kid."

Mira spun around, resisting the impulse to attack the unwanted guest.

"How long have you been standing there?"

Carter shrugged.

"Not long. It's almost time to move out."

"Then I suggest you go make sure you haven't forgotten anything."

Carter rolled his eyes.

"Right."

As he left the tent, Mira laid a gentle hand on her 'telephone'. Provided this mission went well, she could be holding her daughter in her arms once again within the space of a few weeks. Her torturously long stint in the jungle was finally coming to an end. With a tiny uninvited flame of hope in her heart, Mira abandoned her tent and secured the door tightly, consigning the various objects inside to darkness.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

_Run, run, RUN. Lucas ran through the dark jungle as fast as he could. What he was running from, he didn't know, but he couldn't stop. His legs felt like they were on fire and his whole body ached. He glanced behind him at the trees. A weird mottled green and yellow light shone through them. It was almost as though the light was chasing him. He renewed his efforts and kept running. Still couldn't stop. He burst out into a small clearing. Panting, he looked around him at the trees encircling him. The light seemed to have melted into the trees, but gone no further. He was safe. Then he heard a noise behind him. Turning, he saw nothing but a shadow racing through the trees. Turning around and around, he kept catching shadows out of the corner of his eyes, but could never focus enough on them to make them out. _

_"Oh, thank goodness, I thought I'd never find you!" _

_At the familiar voice, Lucas turned again to see Deborah standing in front of him, smiling strangely, as if something was vaguely amusing. They heard a faint growl, which seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. Lucas gazed around at the trees again and heard his own breathing quicken. He turned back to Deborah, panic-stricken. _

_"What are you doing here?! It isn't safe! You need to go, now!" _

_Deborah was still watching him with the same smile, but now she stared back at him in mild confusion. _

_"I know it isn't, but .. I came because you asked me to." _

_Lucas shook his head, his voice sounded weak and shaky even to his own ears. _

_"I didn't .." _

_"But you did." Deborah tilted her head and smiled laughingly at him, looking a little like Skye. "You called me here because you need me." _

_Lucas looked around frantically and tried to push her away gently. _

_"No. You have to go. Now." _

_Deborah laughed and shook her head. _

_"Oh, dear boy. Can't you see that it's too late?" _

_Too late?! _

_"It's not too late! It's never too late!" Lucas felt hot tears come into his eyes and flow down his cheeks. He was struggling to see clearly. He couldn't focus. Everything was a blur. _

_"Oh, son." Another voice entered the clearing. Lucas managed to wipe the tears away enough to see his father emerging from the trees behind Deborah. As he came to stand beside her, he gave Lucas a look which could almost be described as affectionate. _

_"What have you done this time?" _

_Lucas shook his head in confusion. _

_"Noth .." He cleared his throat, but the word still came out as a whisper. "Nothing." _

_Taylor glanced beside him and observed Deborah for a moment. As he watched her, his face fell. _

_"Oh no." He stared solemnly at Lucas. "You've killed her." _

_Lucas gasped. _

_"No .. No, she's fine! Look at her! You're wrong, she's fine!" He pulled Deborah closer toward him and made her stand behind him. She walked obediently wherever he manoeuvred her. Lucas put himself between Deborah and his father. _

_"You can't hurt her." _

_His father gazed at him with a morbid smile. _

_"I don't need to. You have." _

_At the touch of a gentle hand on his shoulder, Lucas turned around. Deborah put a hand up to his face and stroked his cheek. _

_"Oh, son. I wanted so much to be proud of you. If only you could follow orders." Just as she finished her last word, a barbed tail whipped like lightning out of the forest behind her and flicked across her back. He heard a scream come from behind him as the tail vanished back into the forest and Deborah collapsed to the ground. Dead. Lucas shook his head and took a few stumbling steps backward, shaking from head to toe. He barely notice being shoved aside as his father ran to Deborah's still body. Lucas watched, sick with horror, as Nathaniel fell on Deborah and wept heartbrokenly. After a few moments, his father's head lifted up and he turned his watery eyes to Lucas. _

_"You've killed her. You've killed her again." His speech was strangely slurred. "You just had to, didn't you? Are you happy now?!" _

_Lucas watched as his father got unsteadily to his feet. He felt his own breathing grow faster and faster until it was out of control and he began to hyperventilate. _

_"No .. I didn't! It wasn't my fault! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Tears streamed down his face as he screamed at his father. Taylor took a menacing step toward him before stopping abruptly and looking down at himself. He looked up at Lucas with a grieved expression. _

_"Ohh, son. And now you've killed me, too." _

_"No .." Lucas whispered. He took a step toward Nathaniel and held out his hand. "Dad .. please .." _

_As Taylor shook his head at his son, the earth began to shake and a massive set of carnivorous jaws burst out of the jungle and clamped around both Taylor and Deborah in a split second, swallowing them up and disappearing almost immediately. _

_"DAD!" _

_Lucas looked around in terror as he was left in the clearing all alone. He waited for the mouth to swallow him up as well, but it didn't come. He looked up at the sky and paused, frowning in confusion. The sky had turned a strange grey-green swirly colour and the tops of the trees were gone, as if they had been sliced off. Odd. What could have done this? The clearing suddenly became very still and quiet. Lucas' heart began to race as the terror seeped back into him. He had to get out of here. He had to get out of here NOW. He backed up and turned to run away into the woods, but as he reached the trees, he managed to jump back just in time. Claws and teeth seemed to be coming out of every dark hole between the trees. He backed away into the centre of the clearing. They didn't seem to be able to leave the trees. He would be safe, but .. his stomach dropped again. Was he imagining it, or was the clearing growing smaller? The forest was closing in on him! _

_Lucas began to sob again, turning around and around as the trees grew nearer. _

_"It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault." _

_But deep down, he knew his father was right. It was his fault. It is his fault. As the trees and claws grew steadily closer, the sky changed from its swirls of green and grey and began flashing red and black violently. Lucas jumped as the loud bang of gunfire erupted out of nowhere, apparently coming from the sky above him. He put his hands over his ears, but it didn't dim the noise. It wouldn't stop. He looked around again. The trees had closed in so much, there was nowhere else to go. The claws could almost reach him enough to grab him. Lucas dropped to his knees and cried inconsolably. _

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" _

_Just then, a massive claw came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around his head. Lucas tried to speak, but couldn't utter a sound as he was dragged down through the ground beneath him in terror. Help! Help! HELP ME!_

* * *

With a sound like a thunderbolt crashing through his head, Lucas woke up with a jump, drawing a deep breath like he'd been underwater for a long time.

Skye walked into the room a few moments later, setting the chess set down on the bench with a laugh.

"You have no idea what I went through to get .. this .." Skye trailed off as she looked properly at Lucas for the first time. He was sitting up on the couch, pale and shaking. Skye glanced at his right hand, which was clutching the back of the couch as if his life depended on it. His knuckles were white.

"Lucas .."

He didn't respond, didn't even look like he heard her.

"Lucas, what is it?!" She began to move toward him, but hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"I killed her." His trembling voice sounded far away. "Our-Your mother. She's dead, I killed her."

Skye paled as well and gripped the arm of the couch for support as she reached it.

"What?"

"I was running." Lucas stared into space as tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. "She came out of nowhere and .. and she was lying there. She was dead."

Skye released a quiet breath and calmed down a little. He'd been dreaming. She took another few steps closer and sat on the little table beside his couch.

"It was just a dream. My mother's fine."

Lucas shook his head, but said nothing.

"Lucas, look at me. Look at me." Skye gave him the order, not realising how much like her mother she sounded. He turned his face toward her, but didn't look her in the eye.

"You were dreaming. Do you hear me?"

Lucas didn't respond, so Skye leaned forward and firmly placed a hand on either side of his face.

"My mother is back at our house. She's perfectly fine. It was just a nightmare."

Lucas looked her in the eye and swallowed hard.

"Understand?"

As Lucas nodded almost imperceptibly, she released him. He was still shaking badly. Skye leaned back and watched him worriedly for a moment. As she stood up to go to the door, he startled her by grabbing her arm. She stared at him with a warning look.

"Let go."

"Wait .."

"I'm only going to the door. Now Let. Go."

He released her and she continued toward the door with an internal sigh of relief. She opened it and peered out.

"Reynolds. I need my mother. Can you send her over? Tell her nothing's wrong, but Lucas needs to see her."

Mark nodded, frowning curiously.

"Sure."

"Thanks." Skye disappeared back into the house. Lucas was still a little pale and shaky, but he was steadily recovering. She returned to her seat on the table as he threw aside his blanket and took a deep breath, swiping at a rogue tear in mild annoyance. Skye continued to watch him.

"Want to tell me about it?"

He acted like he hadn't heard her. Maybe he hadn't. After a few failed attempts at conversation, Skye gave up and they both sat in silence. A few minutes later, Deborah opened the front door cautiously and peered in. Skye gestured for her to come in and with a glance at Lucas, who still hadn't moved - he almost looked like he'd gone into shock - she got up and went to her mother. Deborah returned her daughter's brief hug and then held her at arm's length.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Skye smiled sheepishly at her mother's concerned expression. "Lucas had a nightmare and .. I guess he must've scared me a bit as well."

Deborah smiled back and shook her head reproachfully.

"I see."

"I can hear you, you know."

They both looked at Lucas, who was watching them in irritation. He still had streaks on his face from where the tears had dried, but he appeared to be almost back to his old self.

Deborah exchanged a silent smile with Skye before walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Rough sleep, hm?"

Lucas flinched at her touch, but didn't shake her hand off.

"Guess so."

Deborah walked around and sat at Skye's place on the table, while Skye stood quietly behind the couch. Lucas didn't seem to want to look at either of them.

"Want to tell me about it?"

When Lucas didn't answer that question either, Skye's quiet voice came from behind him.

"He dreamed that you died and it was his fault." She supplied. Lucas turned and glared at her for betraying his confidence. Skye tilted her head and smiled back.

"Ah." Deborah was nodding. "Was it your fault?"

Lucas looked at Deborah.

"I guess."

After a few seconds of silence, he sighed loudly and leaned his head back.

"Fine. I'll tell you about it, since you're obviously not going to leave me alone until I do."

Deborah smiled and shook her head.

"You don't hav-"

But her daughter interrupted.

"Go on then. It'll be .. therapeutic." Skye came around and sat on the arm of the couch. Lucas scowled at her again. She was still looking at him with that annoying smile.

"Fine."

With that, he relayed the facts of the dream as best he could remember them, speaking mainly to Deborah and sounding as emotionless as possible. When he finished, not even Skye was smiling.

"It does sound like a horrible dream." Deborah looked grave for a moment, though her expression quickly faded into a reassuring smile. "But I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere."

Lucas shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. It was just a dream. Never took that much notice of dreams anyway."

Skye smiled to herself. If only he'd seen himself that morning. Deborah nodded.

"That's smart. Well, I suppose I'll be getting back to my business then!"

As Deborah stood up to leave, Skye slapped her knees and addressed Lucas.

"Well, I brought the chess set. How about we have a game?"

Lucas didn't look at her, but shook his head.

"Actually, I'm kind of tired today. Maybe some other time."

Skye frowned and looked to her mother in confusion, but Deborah only smiled. As Lucas didn't seem to be in a talking mood and Skye found herself at a loss as to what to say, she stood up.

"Fine by me. Guess I'll be going too, then."

"Bye."

Lucas still didn't look at her, instead staring stubbornly at the table in front of him. Skye looked up at the roof in annoyance for a moment, before joining her mother and walking out the door. As they waved goodbye to Mark, Skye was about to burst out into a rant featuring Lucas and his ungrateful attitude as prominent characters when she was quieted by her mother's arm around her shoulders.

"I'm so proud of you, you know. You handle yourself so well."

Skye laughed nervously.

"I was in way over my head this morning. Honestly, Mom, you should've seen him. No matter what he says now, he was white as a ghost and shaking like a leaf. I didn't know what to do with him!"

"And yet, you did exactly the right thing." Deborah smiled at her daughter. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, and that poor boy needs all the stability he can get."

Skye stared at her mother and laughed incredulously.

"Poor boy?! You do realise this is still the guy that destroyed half the colony not 6 months ago, right?"

Deborah smiled ruefully and nodded.

"Yes, you're right, of course. I suppose I'm somewhat inclined to think he's not bad, just .."

".. broken." Skye finished.

Deborah gave her daughter's shoulders an affectionate squeeze.

"That's right."

"But Mom .." Skye was watching her mother worriedly. "Maybe some people can't be brought back. Even time can't heal all wounds."

Deborah smiled back at her daughter tranquilly.

"Maybe time alone was never supposed to."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

The next week or so passed in busy happiness. Josh was doing well in his medical training, Maddy was happier now that Malcolm wasn't so tied up with repairs, and Zoe's party was just around the corner. All of which resulted in the fact that the Shannon household was a buzzing centre of chaos. Happy chaos, but chaos all the same. When Elisabeth and Josh left for the Infirmary that Friday morning, they were both looking forward to the measured calm that awaited them, though neither of them acknowledged it.

Skye hadn't gone to see Lucas again, and so their chess wars had been postponed indefinitely, but she'd been so busy she'd barely noticed. Her next level of security training had started up, but seeing as Malcolm was keeping Lucas so occupied with repairs, he probably didn't care if she took a break from him to focus on other things. That morning, Reilly had presented Skye with her new tags.

"You're officially one of us now, kiddo. Welcome to the team."

Along with Skye, several other of the recruits had joined - the young medic from the forest, whose name Skye had discovered quite recently was Joseph, a few other people she had seen from a distance, but hadn't gotten to know yet .. and Irving. Yes, _that_ Irving. It would appear that under all his snark, he was rather a good soldier.

About mid-morning, Skye leaned on the Command Centre railing and looked out over the colony. That night, she had her first shift in one of the guard towers, and she was rather looking forward to it! Dunham had mentioned to her that it was an extremely boring part of the job, and based on his description, she could well believe it .. but something about the idea of being up there, overlooking the colony and the land surrounding it, lit up by the moon and the colony lights with the stars twinkling brightly overhead made it hard not to look forward to it. Maybe Dunham got bored easily. The wind tossed her hair as she looked over toward the Markets. This tended to be their busiest time of day, and from where she was standing, she could see almost all of it. A child fell over, scraping his knee on the gravel and crying despairingly until his mother picked him up and distracted him with a small object that reflected the light. An old salesman was busy trying to get a young couple to buy his best and rarest seeds. She laughed to herself. Those plants abounded not far away from the colony, but to someone that never left the security of the gates, they may well seem rare. As the couple handed their money over happily, Skye shook her head and raised her eyes to the mountains beyond. Snakehead Falls was in the opposite direction, but her mind was still cast back to that day months ago when she had fled the colony and made the lonesome trek up the freezing mountain .. only to discover that she wasn't as alone as she might have assumed. She smiled and took a deep breath of the clean air. Whether she had realised it then or not, the events of that day had changed the whole fate of Terra Nova. It was, in Maddy's words, a perfect demonstration of Chaos Theory, or more specifically, the Butterfly Effect, whatever you chose to call it. Simply put, if she had never found Lucas that day on the mountain, Taylor may still have been Commander, Skye herself may never have joined the security team, and though she didn't know it yet, the lifespan of the colony may have been drastically altered. All because on that day in early January, a young adult from Terra Nova had chosen to take a walk up to the Falls. She smiled to herself and shook her head again. Time streams were strange things .. even ordinary ones that didn't cut across each other.

A beam of glowing sunlight fell across her face and Skye rubbed her eyes. Maybe it was time to take Reilly's advice and get some sleep before her night shift. She took one last look around her home before turning with a contented grin and trotting down the Command Centre steps. She felt happier than she had in a long while. Life may have changed a lot over the past few months, but for the most part, it had changed for the better.

* * *

"See how I'm not twisting it, I'm just pulling it straight?"

Josh nodded slowly as his mother talked him through her treatment of a long-suffering patient.

"I think so."

"Good. Now just one strong pull-"

"GAH!"

Josh winced as the blood rushed into the patient's face and he was allowed to lie down gently on the bed.

"There." Elisabeth smiled down at him. "Believe it or not, in a few minutes, you'll feel quite a lot better. Take deep breaths."

The man took very exaggerated breaths as he watched his doctor. Elisabeth nodded reassuringly as Josh bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"Feel better?"

"Yes." The poor man had made himself lightheaded, but was finally smiling. "Thanks."

"You are very welcome." Elisabeth smiled at him for a moment before turning to Josh, who had sufficiently recovered his composure. "Now, do you think you could handle the sling for me while I go and see to my other patient? I'll be right over there."

"Me?" Josh's momentary terror was concealed by a determined nod. "Uh, sure. Yeah."

"Great!" Elisabeth turned back to the man on the bed. "We'll just put a sling on that and you'll be good to go. Take it easy for a few weeks though. No heavy lifting. It needs to heal."

"You're leaving?!" The patient gazed worriedly at her as she began to walk away. Elisabeth turned back.

"Don't worry. You're in very capable hands."

As she left, the man turned to Josh, who had just finished retrieving a white piece of material from a nearby cupboard. He squinted up at the young trainee suspiciously.

"Am I in good hands?"

Josh took a deep breath and grinned uneasily at his patient.

"Uh, sure. Absolutely."

A few minutes later, the man had gone home satisfied. Josh was standing near the centre table and shaking his head as his mother walked up laughing.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Josh stared at her in dismay.

"He said he'd make sure to bring his daughter in next time."

"And .. ? What was the context?" His mother suppressed another laugh and looked at him curiously.

"That was the context! That was all he said! Then he walked away with this weird smile .." Josh groaned and put his head in his hands at the table while his mother laughed unfeelingly.

"Have to get used to that, I'm afraid. There's something about the medical profession that seems appealing to well-meaning parents."

Josh glanced at her dismally as she patted him sympathetically on the back.

"Come on. Maybe I'll even let you sort out the supply closet."

Josh snorted and rolled his eyes at her as he stood up.

"Oh, great. Thanks."

* * *

"Daddy! It's time! Come on, come on!"

Jim hurriedly grabbed his handheld radio and shoved it onto his belt.

"I'm coming, sweetie." He threw a look at Maddy, who was lying on the backless couch with her Plex. "Care to help me out here?"

"Dad." Maddy glanced at him patiently. "I'm about to go meet Doctor Wallace at the Lab. I already told you! Twice. Remember, the event .. ?"

Jim frowned for a moment, looking perplexed. When the light finally dawned on his face, Zoe was pulling at his hand.

"Oh, right! The .. flower thing. Okay, okay, we're going."

As Maddy grinned and shook her head, turning back to her Plex, Zoe became more frantic.

"Daddy, it's almost time! And we still have to pick up Leah!"

"Leah." Jim looked as though he'd completely forgotten all of his daughter's friends as he fumbled for his fingerprint tags on the kitchen counter. "Oh! Leah!"

He waved to Maddy as he was rushed out the door.

"Bye, honey! Have fun with your .. flower thing!"

"Bye, Dad!"

Jim began walking quickly up the street, but at Zoe's protests, he paused.

"Daddy!"

"Right! Leah!"

He turned around hurriedly and walked back up the other way with Zoe holding tightly onto his right hand, having to skip and run along just to keep up with her father's awkward pace. After a few minutes, he slowed down. Zoe was panting breathlessly and he shook her hand with a worried frown.

"You okay, Pumpkin?"

Zoe nodded as she caught her breath.

"Fine, Daddy. But maybe we don't need to go so fast."

"Sorry." Jim laughed and picked her up, setting off again. "I have to say, you are looking quite stunning this evening, Miss Shannon."

Zoe laughed and rolled her head back to look at the sky.

"Daddy .."

"What?! It's true! And I'm sure Mommy would be so happy her clothes are going to good use."

Zoe grinned mischievously at him. They had indeed raided her mother's wardrobe (as well as a few other peoples') to come up with her costume for the night. She had decided to go as Little Red Riding Hood, with one of Jim's shirts as the dress and Maddy's belt around her waist. They had used one of Elisabeth's shirts as the hood and cloak and another of her shirts as a vest. Josh had even contributed a basket for her to carry and Maddy had filled it with some flowers and plant scraps from the Lab, and so it had become quite the family affair.

As they passed Lucas' house, Jim put Zoe down.

"Let me just talk to Reynolds for a second, honey."

Whatever protests Zoe might have made, the sight of her favourite non-family member quickly halted them in their tracks. She ran up to Mark and hugged him. He laughed and hugged her back, then held her at arms' length.

"Well, don't we look fancy this evening?"

"Mark .." Zoe grinned at him. "It's not evening yet!"

"Isn't it?!" Mark stared at the sky in mock confusion. "But the stars are out! Look!"

Zoe looked for a moment and then turned back to him with a reproachful look.

"Those are just clouds."

"They are?!" As Mark turned back to her, he caught Jim's eye and stuttered awkwardly. "Uh .. silly me."

Zoe shook her head laughingly at him and Jim addressed him with a lowered voice.

"No events .. ?"

"None so far." Reynolds replied. "Although there was one thing .."

As they talked, Zoe wandered along the front of the house admiring the flowers.

"Hey, Zo, don't go too far." Jim called out.

Zoe turned to reply.

"Daddy, we have to go!"

"One second, honey!"

"Someone's in a hurry."

The new voice came from the window above her. Zoe looked up curiously to see Lucas looking out at her.

"Oh. It's you."

He grinned.

"Well, you're not wrong .." When she didn't reply, he continued. "Where are you off to dressed like a strawberry?"

Zoe scowled at him.

"It's not a strawberry. It's Little Red Riding Hood."

"Ohhh." Lucas nodded solemnly. "Then where's the wolf?"

Zoe looked around quickly and, seeing her father still busy with his discussion, she smiled up at Lucas conspiratorially.

"Maybe you can be the wolf. You'd be a good wolf, I think."

"You think?" Lucas laughed. "Why?"

"Well .." Zoe looked thoughtful. "You're sneaky .. and mean .. and you'd probably eat people if you could."

Lucas raised his eyebrows and caught another laugh in his throat.

"You think so?"

Zoe didn't reply, but was staring at his garden.

"Hey, can I pick some of your flowers for my basket?"

Lucas shrugged.

"Go for your life."

As Zoe bent down to pick them, she looked up at him.

"So this is where you live now?"

Her window buddy nodded slowly.

"Yep."

She stood up and looked around contemplatively.

"It's nice. Do you like it?"

"Sure."

She held some small blue flowers up to the window.

"What do you think of these?"

"Nice." Lucas examined them seriously. "Add some yellow ones."

"Good idea."

He watched as the little girl picked some more flowers and arranged them neatly in her basket.

"There." She stared in satisfaction at it. "How's that?"

Lucas peered over the windowsill down into the basket, nodding his approval.

"Nice!"

"I think so." Zoe smiled at her flowers, but Lucas frowned.

"Then why did you want to know what I thought of it?"

She looked up at him.

"Other people sometimes have different opinions." She explained it to him carefully, as though she was the adult and he was the child. "Sometimes it's nice to see what other people think. Unless you don't care what other people think." She added hurriedly.

Lucas smiled in amusement.

"I see."

"Hey." Zoe tilted her head up at him. "You seem happier than you were in the Infirmary. Nicer, too."

"Oh no!" Lucas gasped in mock horror. "If you think so, it won't be longer before everyone does! How can I go back to being mean again?"

Zoe grinned at him.

"Well, first you have to stop smiling and sort of stare angrily at people. Like this." She pulled a horrendous face. When he'd controlled his choke of laughter, Lucas copied her.

"Like this?"

"Angrier!"

"Like .. this?" Lucas glared at her so fiercely that Zoe burst out laughing. Lucas' face dissolved into a grief-stricken expression.

"I thought you were supposed to be scared!"

Zoe just laughed again.

"Some teacher you are, laughing at her well-meaning students."

"I'm sorry." Zoe blinked up at him. "You're just not very good at being mean."

"Well, thanks very much." Lucas scoffed.

Just then, a loud roar made both of them jump. Zoe looked around frantically, catching her father's eye as both he and Mark did the same thing. The roar had sounded close-by.

"Thanks, Mark." Jim patted Mark's arm as he walked toward Zoe, who turned back to Lucas with wide eyes.

"If you could roar like _that_, people would think you were mean!"

Lucas nodded in agreement as Jim walked up and put his hands on his daughter's shoulders.

"Making friends, I see?"

Neither Lucas or Zoe responded to this, the latter getting the distinct impression she was in trouble. In all honesty, Lucas' thoughts were very near her own.

"C'mon, Zo. Leah will be wondering where we are!"

"Oh yeah!" Zoe slipped her hand into her father's, casting a last glance at the window as they began to walk away.

"Bye, Lucas!"

Lucas watched from his window as the two figures wandered away down the gravel path.

"Bye, kid."

* * *

"Spray. Bit more. Perfect."

At Elisabeth's prompting, Josh released the woman's hand with a smile.

"Cut's all gone! How does it feel?"

The woman nodded appreciatively.

"Much better. _Thank_ you."

Josh grinned.

"Not a problem."

As the woman got up to leave, Elisabeth turned to her son.

"I think you're getting better at this!"

"I certainly hope so." He smiled wryly back, and his mother grinned.

"Come on. One bottle is not the end of the world, and .." She leaned closer. ".. between you and me, Mr. Wendell had it coming."

Josh stared at her in pretend shock.

"Mom!"

Before Elisabeth could answer, however, an odd bang came from outside and within seconds, the Infirmary was plunged into darkness. As their eyes adjusted to the dim light coming through the windows, Elisabeth called out.

"It would appear we've lost power. Stay calm. The generator will kick in in a moment."

Everyone in the building stayed very still and no one said a word. It seemed as though the entire world was dead silent. The overwhelming quiet was almost deafening. After a minute or two, the generator kicked in with a comforting whir and the staff were free to go about their business. Josh frowned.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't know. Another meteor maybe?"

"Strange if it was, with no concussive wave attached to it." Nurse Ogawa had come up beside them and was staring worriedly at Elisabeth. "Do you want me to go find the Commander and alert him on the situation?"

Elisabeth went to the window and looked out.

"The Markets are still open and everything seems normal." She turned back to her son and the Head Nurse. "But I really need you here."

As she was speaking, another nurse came up with a small box of various devices.

"Dr. Shannon. I'm sorry for interrupting, but .."

Elisabeth turned to her.

"What is it, Roxanne?"

The young nurse held out the box cautiously.

"None of these are working. I think they broke when the power went out."

"Hm." Elisabeth picked up a small MRI laser and frowned at it. "Well, it's definitely not working."

Josh resisted the urge to comment on her statement of the obvious. Smart choice, too, because Elisabeth was growing increasingly more worried.

"But we need these devices!" The nurse exclaimed, looking scared. "What are we going to do if they're broken?!"

Elisabeth took the box from her with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. We'll get on without them. And in the meantime .." She deposited the box into the arms of her son. "Josh."

He stared at her suspiciously.

"Yes .. ?"

"Would you be a dear and take these to Malcolm for me?"

Josh rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.

"Fiiiiine."

Elisabeth smiled gratefully.

"Thank you."

As she walked him to the door, she made him look at her.

"Josh. I don't know what caused this. Be careful will you?"

He frowned at her.

"You think this could be Sixers?"

She shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. But promise me you'll go straight to Malcolm and come back."

"I will."

"Good."

Elisabeth opened the door for him and he stepped out. As he began to walk away, she called after him,

"And Josh, on the way back, drop in on your father and explain the situation, will you?"

She smiled as Josh turned and saluted her lazily.

"Thank you!"


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Skye was woken up from her afternoon nap by a loud banging on the front door. She lay in bed and listened carefully as her mother answered it in an annoyed voice.

"Do you have to thump so loudly?! Skye has work tonight, and she's trying to sleep right on the other side of that doorway."

Skye's resulting grin disappeared at the visitor's reply.

"Sorry, but thanks to the power outage, all members of the security team have been called in until further notice. Tate's been assigned to the Infirmary. Send her over there as soon as possible, will you?"

As her mother closed the door, Skye continued to listen, frowning. It was strangely quiet. What time was it? As she glanced at the tag that lay beside her bed, a soft knock sounded at her door. 4:30. The door opened and Deborah peered in. As Skye sat up, her mother opened the door fully and came into the room.

"I assume you heard some of that."

Skye nodded.

"I'm going to the Infirmary now?"

Deborah shrugged with a smile.

"So it would seem!"

As Skye pulled on her boots, she glanced sideways at her mother.

"I was supposed to have guard tower duty tonight. Who's gonna do that if I'm at the Infirmary?"

Deborah laughed and shook her head.

"I don't know, Bucket! I'm sure they'll find someone."

As Skye stood up to leave, Deborah stood up as well and, taking her daughter's face in her hands, leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Be safe, my daughter."

Skye pulled away and grinned back.

"Always."

* * *

Monica sighed as she entered her house. The short walk had done her good, but she still felt exhausted. She took off her coat and put it on the rack wearily. She had been instructed to take it easy for a little while and wasn't to see Taylor until further notice. Monica sighed again and began making herself a cup of tea in the dark. Doctor's orders. The house was dim, but she had just enough light to see by. Though she was gradually recovering, bright light still hurt her eyes. She held her cup under the spout and pressed the button to fill it with water. A moment later, she frowned. The water was lukewarm. It was supposed to be boiling hot. As she scowled into her mug, she heard a soft footstep behind her.

"Power's off."

Monica turned around slowly, laying her mug on the counter. She could just make out a dim figure in the corner of the room.

"Mira."

Mira stepped out of the shadows in her usual stance - chin up, back straight, unyielding gaze. Monica frowned.

"Why is the power off?"

"Probably the electromag bomb we set off near the centre of the colony." Mira walked to the counter and began examining a small plant sitting on it. Monica nodded sarcastically, watching her.

"Yeah, that'd be it."

When Mira still said nothing, Monica decided to venture another question.

"Why?"

"You let me worry about that." The leader of the Sixers finally turned to her. "We haven't heard from you in a little while. Everything alright?"

Monica laughed and rubbed her eyes. Mira took note of the movement. When Monica dropped her hands, she looked more exhausted than she had before.

"Taylor put me in the Infirmary for a week. Apparently, I almost died!" Monica sounded happier than she should have at the prospect. "But no, everything's .. everything's fine."

"Nathaniel Taylor attacked you?"

"Tried to strangle me and then threw me against the brig wall." The counsellor shook her head. "That man is .."

".. off his tree." Mira muttered. "Pity."

"He's not crazy. He's just had a rough time of it."

Mira raised her eyes at the snappy comment.

"You're a good counsellor, Monica. But it's not much use if you get your head smashed in."

"Very funny."

"I wasn't joking."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"So Taylor's still in the brig. Where's Lucas?"

"There's a small house on the south side. There're no houses on either side of it - you can't miss it."

"Good."

As Mira headed for the back door, Monica added,

"Still won't do you any good though. It runs on a generator."

"Details." Mira responded without turning back. "Take care of yourself."

Monica leaned on the counter and picked up her mug once more.

"How am I supposed to make my tea now?!"

"You'll live."

* * *

"Delivery."

Josh knocked on the doorframe and peered in through the open door of the Lab. Malcolm was nowhere in sight. Odd. He didn't normally leave the door open. Josh took a few steps inside and peered around cautiously. The lights were on, thanks to the generator. But where was everyone? He was beginning to feel distinctly uneasy when he rounded a corner to see a small group of people. They were gathered around what he could only assume was some form of science experiment. He crept forward until he was standing directly behind his sister.

"Have you solved them yet?"

Maddy jumped violently and spun around at the whispered voice near her right ear. Malcolm and a few other researchers had also been startled.

"Josh! What are you doing here?!" She frowned at the box in his arms as the other scientists went back to what they were doing, shushing her in the process. Maddy looked up at Josh in confusion.

"Solved what?"

"The mysteries of the universe."

Maddy rolled her eyes before returning her brother's teasing grin, gesturing to the box.

"What are those for?"

"Thought you robots might be hungry." Josh laughed at his sister's unimpressed glare. "They're from Mom! She wanted Malcolm to fix them ASAP."

"SHH."

Both Shannon siblings rolled their eyes at each other as an overenthusiastic lab assistant shushed them in an agitated voice.

"Anyway .." Josh shook the box and then frowned, trying to look over the heads and see what they were staring at.

"A plant?" He finally broke out in a tone of amused confusion. "What, is it gonna grow legs and run away?"

"And this coming from the future doctor." Maddy folded her arms. "Look, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"I thought Mom was waiting for you."

"SHHHHHHH!"

They both had to swallow snorts of laughter as the lab assistant, now quite red in the face, glared around at them.

"Yep, that's my cue." Josh tapped Malcolm on the shoulder before Maddy could stop him.

"Malcolm? My mom needs these fixed as soon as possible. I think the power outage fried them."

Maddy winced as Malcolm turned around like a dragon roused from his slumber.

"First of all, this had better be extremely important. Secondly, you may address me as Dr. Wallace. Thirdly .. what, your mother wants ALL these fixed tonight?!"

Josh shrugged.

"I guess. Although I can see you guys must be _really_ busy."

Malcolm narrowed his eyes at Josh.

"I've had just about enough of your cheek, thank you very much. And as for your other request-"

"SHH!"

Malcolm turned around fuming.

"Did you just shush me?!"

The lab assistant looked horrified.

"N-No, sir."

"GOOD." Malcolm turned back to Josh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I can't tonight. I'm sorry. I have a million and one things to do, and-"

"Come on, it's just a plant!"

Most of the nearby group turned and stared disdainfully at Josh, while Maddy and Malcolm simply looked shocked. After a couple of seconds, the latter regained his composure and raised his eyebrows.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

After rejecting Josh's second futile attempt to hand the box over, Malcolm took pity on him.

"Look, I'll tell you what. Take it to the house on the southernmost side of the colony. My, uh, apprentice lives there. He'll help you. Hopefully." The last word was muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough for Josh to catch it and he frowned.

"'Hopefully'?"

"You better hurry. Elisabeth doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Maddy opened her mouth to say something, but apparently decided against it. Josh glanced at her in confusion, but didn't have a chance to say anything either. At that moment, the lab assistant shrieked.

"IT'S HAPPENING!"

Maddy glanced at him and then turned back to Josh with shining eyes.

"Say hi to mom for me!"

Within seconds, the entire group was clustered around the little plant again, just as Josh had found them. He walked away, shaking his head. Honestly, _what_ was so special about a tiny plant?!

A few minutes later, he reached what he assumed was the right house, only to see someone he knew out the front. Josh walked up to him, frowning.

"Mark? You're the apprentice?"

Poor Mark looked more bewildered than Josh did.

"What?"

Josh held out the box and comprehension dawned on Mark's face.

"OH. Those go inside. Here, I'll take them." He held out his arms for them, but Josh clung to the box stubbornly.

"I've carried them this far. I may as well make sure they get into the right hands."

"Uh, you might not .." Mark trailed off as Josh glared at him. "You know what, uh, suit yourself!"

As Mark backed away from the door, Josh walked suspiciously up to it. Something about this situation was not quite right. As he balanced the box under his arm and knocked, Mark called out,

"Oh, just go right in. He doesn't mind."

With another uneasy glance at Reynolds, Josh turned the knob. What he saw when he opened the door confirmed his suspicions. Lucas was leaning on the kitchen counter facing the door. When he saw Josh, he frowned in surprise.

"Shannon? Why do you people always come in twos?!"

After a second of silence, Josh shook his head.

".. nope. Never mind."

He turned to see Mark watching him from a few metres away. When Mark shrugged, Josh turned back to Lucas. Great. Lucas was watching him with an expression of humorous confusion. He nodded towards Josh's package.

"What's in the box?"

"Broken stuff. Malcolm told me you could fix it."

Lucas tilted his head to the side.

"'Broken stuff'? Is that the technical term?"

Josh glanced back at Mark, who was still watching through the open doorway.

"Look, they need to be fixed as soon as possible. Can you do it or not?"

"I might be able to." Lucas raised his eyebrows and looked curiously into the box. "What did you do, fall on them? Spill some magic medical juice on them? Leave them inside a patient? .. on the other hand, maybe it's better if you _don't _tell me."

"Great. So I'll just leave them with you then." Josh could already feel his temper rising. Something about this weasel always managed to get under his skin somehow. He dropped the box on the floor and turned to leave.

"Actually, Shannon, could you put it on the table over there? I have a bad back."

"Right." Josh took a step out the door, but Lucas' voice followed him.

"I thought you wanted them fixed as soon as possible."

He turned back, clenching his jaw and picked up the box, carrying it to the table and dumping it down onto it.

"There."

"Ouch." Lucas interjected. "No wonder they're broken."

"Happy? Good." At least he was no longer in Mark's line of sight.

"Hm." Lucas tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That's still pretty low, isn't it? Maybe the counter would be better."

"Move it yourself." Josh moved toward the door again, but Lucas stepped into his path. Josh stared at him, bristling.

"Get out of the way."

"You first."

"Why can't you move again? .. oh wait." Josh smiled at him. "It must still hurt from where Skye _shot_ you."

Lucas raised his eyebrows in vague approval.

"Feel better now?"

Josh nodded carelessly.

"Yeah, actually. At least one of us does."

As Josh prepared to sidestep him, Lucas looked over toward the box on the table.

"You know, I'm surprised Malcolm even let you carry those. They look pretty heavy. _Oh wait_." He imitated Josh's words from a moment ago. "Those are all Infirmary devices. Must've meant you were doing a job for mommy. Isn't that sweet? Mommy's little helper."

"Yeah, well, at least-" Josh pulled himself up short, but Lucas' expression had already changed.

"At least .. what? Go on. Finish it."

"Nothing."

"At least .." Lucas stepped toward Josh with a dangerous smile. "At least you have a mother? At least your mother cares about you?"

Josh shook his head.

"No, I wasn't .." In truth, he didn't know what he had been about to say. "Look, just forget it."

Lucas walked past him and sat on the back of the couch with his arms folded.

"It's fine. We've all lost people. You're still hurting and so you want to take it out on me. Go ahead. I can take it."

Josh shook his head with a bitter smile.

"You better be able to take it. Because it is all your fault, and one day you'll have to pay for it."

"You're probably right." Lucas was watching him placidly. "But I think we all know who won't be around to see it."

"Your mother .. right?" Josh immediately replied. "Probably a good thing, too."

Lucas watched as Josh began to stroll lazily towards him.

"I mean, Kara would be encouraging me no matter what. She always did." Josh smiled to himself. "'Course there were times we disagreed, but she always had my back in the end. But your mom .. !" Josh grimaced as Lucas stared at him in silence.

"Well, you know your mom better than most people."

With that cryptic remark, Josh fell silent, but Lucas' curiosity got the best of him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, just .." Josh put his hands in his pockets, looking around the room in a preoccupied manner. "You, and now your dad .. maybe your whole family was crazy!"

"Careful."

"In _fact_ .." Josh was enjoying this conversation now in spite of himself. ".. maybe your mom was the ringleader! She was, wasn't she? What was she, a thief? An ex-con?"

"Shannon, I'm warning you. Watch it."

"Or what?!" Josh folded his arms and stared at his enemy. He was alone. He had no soldiers, no weapons, and no more verbal ammunition. This would be a fair fight .. and secretly, Josh had been itching for a fair fight ever since that day at the Bar months ago. He took another couple of steps closer and stood in front of Lucas.

"What are you gonna do?! You have no protection! It's over for you. You're finished."

Lucas suddenly jumped forward and grabbed Josh's collar.

"You can't say I didn't warn you."

Half a second later, Mark heard several loud crashes come from inside the house. He immediately reached for his radio with a groan.

"I knew he'd been in there too long. Commander Shannon, it's Mark at Lucas' house. Come quick! I think we may have a problem!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Mark burst into the house to see Lucas slammed into the nearest wall. He attempted to stop the fight by threatening them with his sonic, but he didn't want to hit Josh!

"Wait! Stop!" Mark holstered his pistol as Lucas received a nasty punch to his cheekbone. Jim would never forgive him if Josh was hurt!

Josh yelled as Lucas kneed him in the stomach. While Josh was bent over, Mark tried to get between him and Lucas, but was somehow cast aside and almost landed on the floor himself. It was no use. He couldn't do anything by himself besides watch or join the fight! Where was Jim?!

Lucas and Josh continued to attack one another. Mark winced as Josh was thrown across the small table. He tried to grab him and hold him back when he landed on the floor, but Josh leaped up with renewed strength and pushed Mark away, flying at Lucas and wrestling him to the ground. After surviving a couple of solid whacks, Lucas managed to roll Josh off. Mark stood at the side of the lounge room and watched helplessly. After a few minutes and some decent punishment distributed from both sides, the two fighters were exhausted. Josh wiped his bloody nose on the sleeve of his white lab coat as he gave Lucas a final half-hearted punch in the ribs. Then he collapsed on the floor nearby. Lucas was also finished, and lay not far from Josh. Neither of them looked like they were going to be moving anytime soon. Josh's nose wasn't quite broken, but it had received a nasty blow and was still bleeding. In addition to the painful bruising they both shared around their ribs, Lucas had a reddish purple smudge just under his left eye and over his cheekbone. It was gradually melting into a blue-black blur, and the next day the area surrounding his right eye would show signs of the pummelling the other side of his face had endured. For now, however, they both lay still, gasping for breath and slowly regaining the strength to continue their fight, though truth be told, neither of them had any intention of going through with it. Josh closed his eyes and felt the cool breeze from the open door flow over him. In his fog, the vague idea came to him that his mother would be wondering where he was. Mark stood watching over them, feeling like little more than an armed babysitter. He watched Josh worriedly. This may well be his future brother-in-law lying on the floor in front of him. He groaned inwardly and rubbed his eyes. _What_ would Jim think?!

Just then, a shriek from Lucas made them both jump. Mark stared at him in surprise as Jim ran into the room. None of the inside members had even heard the Rover pull up. Josh's father had glimpsed his son lying senseless through the open door, but seen no one else and panicked. The tags on his neck rattled as he looked around hurriedly, taking in the scene.

At Lucas' pained yell, Josh lifted his head off the floor to look over at him. His opponent shivered for a moment and then lay still again, renewing his breathless gasps as the shock wore off. Josh chuckled to himself and dropped his head back on the floor. As he wiped his sleeve across his face again, he happened to glimpse his father a few feet away, and paused mid-action. As Jim raised an eyebrow at Josh questioningly, Mark appeared beside him.

"I'm sorry, sir, I couldn't stop them."

"It's alright, Reynolds." Jim glanced at Mark briefly, but quickly did a double-take. "Mark, your face is bleeding."

"What?"

Jim gestured to his own jawline. Mark put his hand up to his face, bringing it back down with a smudge of blood on his fingers.

"How did that happen?"

Mark frowned at his hand.

"I .. have no idea."

Josh groaned as he sat up, sniffing tentatively. Lucas remained on the floor.

"Happy with yourself?"

Jim tapped on the kitchen counter and stared down at his son. Josh looked up at his father, his face slowly melting into an awkward grin, which, under the circumstances, made for an interesting picture.

"Lucas?" Jim looked over at the other battered figure on the floor. That figure didn't bother to move, but simply muttered.

"Not bad, Shannon. Not bad at all."

Evidently Lucas respected people who had the capacity to beat the stuffing out of him. Half a minute later, once Josh had been moved to the couch and his injuries roughly assessed, Lucas forced himself to sit up. Sliding painfully over a little, he propped himself up against the side of the kitchen counter where he could see the others clearly. When Jim glanced over at him, Lucas was staring at him indignantly.

"You shocked me."

"So I did." Jim leaned back on the couch opposite Josh and studied him. "Lucas, it serves you right! You beat up my son. Again."

"I'd say the blame's pretty evenly distributed on this one."

This, surprisingly, coming from Josh, who, apart from his nose, had come out looking the better from their little encounter. Lucas' bruising was really becoming evident now, and it looked as though it hurt him to even blink.

"Hm." Jim looked around at the three young men that had sustained various injuries. Mark avoided his gaze in humiliation. "Alright. Lucas, come here. Let's see what the damage is."

Lucas stood up slowly, but instead of coming closer, he shook his head.

"I'm fine. Really."

"Lucas." Jim's voice was unmistakably stern this time. "I won't ask again."

Seeing as Lucas was in no state to put up a fight, he reluctantly complied. Amazingly, neither of the combatants had sustained any serious injuries.

"Alright. I've cleaned you up as best I can." Jim finally threw away his last alcohol swab. "But your mother" addressing Josh "is still going to have something to say about it."

"I know .." Josh glanced ruefully at Lucas. "But he did deserve it."

"Oh, what are you, 5?"

"Put this back in the Rover for me, will you?" Jim handed the first aid kit to Mark. "You can take the Rover back to base as well. Have the rest of the night off. Your replacement should be here any second, anyway."

Mark nodded.

"Thank you, sir."

As Mark turned away, Jim added,

"Oh, and Mark - good job. You did what anyone else in your situation would've been expected to do."

Mark nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, sir."

As he disappeared, Jim stood up.

"Well, seeing as Elisabeth will be working herself into a state about you," he nudged Josh's shoulder "what say we make our way back to the Infirmary?"

"Sounds good." As Josh nodded, a knock came at the door. Irving poked his head in.

"Replacement for Reynolds. I'm on duty now."

"Good." Jim reached out to help Josh up, but he waved his father's hand away and stood up on his own. As they headed for the door, Josh turned and looked seriously at Lucas.

"Hey, enjoy staying up all night fixing those devices."

Grinning at both Lucas' despairing groan and his father's disapproving frown, Josh followed Jim out the door.

* * *

As the setting sun began to glow red over the roofs of Terra Nova, the two male members of the Shannon family made their way back to the Infirmary.

"So you were saying the power's out in the Infirmary as well?"

"Yeah."

"And most other places, by the looks." Jim looked around at the houses they passed. Most were dark and still, although through the windows he could see candles in some of them.

"What do you think caused it?"

"I don't know, but it didn't take down the generators."

After a moment, Josh laughed.

"Mom was paranoid about Sixers."

"She has every reason to be. I've called all members of the security team in and stationed them around the colony. If this is an outside attack, they'll have trouble getting in."

"You really think it might be? Wouldn't there be, I dunno, explosions, screams by now?"

"Possibly. Then again, possibly not."

Josh grinned at him.

"You have no idea, do you?"

Jim raised his eyebrows at his son.

"You know, this sunset really brings out the colour of your .. nose."

Josh snorted as Jim began to laugh to himself.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny."

They both froze as a terrified scream suddenly rang out through the street, followed by an angry snarl and another scream. Glancing at each other, Jim and Josh took off toward the sound, only to almost run smack into a woman around the next corner. They slid to a stop abruptly on the gravel path. The woman in front of them held a young boy in her arms. The child was unconscious, and Josh's heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach as he took in the sight. The pale boy's shirt was torn and soaked. The mother's arms were covered in blood and she was shaking badly.

"Help me, please! I saw him, he was .. trying to pat it." She dissolved into sobs, and Jim reached out and took the boy off her gently.

"Josh, help her. We have to get him to the Infirmary now."

The mother, however, needed no assistance. As Jim ran toward the blue building at the end of the street, the boy's mother followed right at his heels.

"Elisabeth! ELISABETH!" Jim yelled as he burst into the Infirmary, the other two close behind.

His wife immediately appeared out of one of the curtained rooms, looking anxious.

"Jim? What happened?!" She instructed him to lay the boy on one of the examination beds and drew the curtains. Jim put down the boy as carefully as he could.

"Blood!" Elisabeth barked orders to a nearby nurse. "I need blood and pull that tray over. That's right." She looked back at Jim, waiting for him to fill her in. Jim shrugged and glanced at the mother on the other side of the bed. She answered quietly, never taking her eyes off her son.

"I came out of the house to see him reaching out for it. He just wanted to pat it."

"What?" At a warning glance from Elisabeth, Jim's voice softened. "What was it?"

"A dinosaur. A monster." The woman finally looked up at him, tears trickling down her cheeks. "It was twice the size of him, but he wasn't afraid. He was never afraid." She drew in a shaky breath. "It lifted up its arm and struck him. My boy fell down, I screamed, and the creature disappeared."

"It ran when you yelled?" Jim frowned, struggling to believe the story. If such a large predator was preparing to attack, surely it wouldn't run. It was uncharacteristic for a carnivore, even from the little Jim knew of them. And if it was so big, the boy would be dead already. Why not just take the boy and run off? And how did it get into the colony?! None of it made sense.

Elisabeth was instructing Josh to take the mother out of the room. She didn't want to go, but with a little coaxing, she was persuaded to let the medical staff do their jobs. Jim watched his wife lift up the boy's shirt and winced. The scratches were large - especially compared to the child's small frame - and deep. Elisabeth took a deep breath as the nurse set up the IV.

"We're working with less tools than we're used to, but at least we can keep an eye on his vital signs thanks to the bed. There's a lot of blood. I can see the extent of the damage on the screen, but I'll have to stitch him up manually until Malcolm has fixed our equipment." She smiled nervously at Jim. "I haven't done that since med school."

"You'll be fine." As Jim smiled reassuringly at her, the surrounding sounds abruptly died. Darkness fell upon them once again as the lights flickered off.

"No!" He heard his wife's distraught voice out of the darkness. "No, no, not the generator as well."

As a helpful nurse ran in with a couple of the lanterns they kept for emergencies, Elisabeth grabbed Jim's arm.

"Jim, I'll do my best here, but without power, I'm flying blind."

"Say no more." Jim began to back away. "I'll go take a look at the generator."

When Elisabeth opened her mouth to protest, Jim amended his statement.

"I'll get Malcolm first."

She nodded and turned back to her small patient as Jim ran off into the dark.

* * *

"Malcolm! MALCOLM!"

"WHAT?!"

Malcolm yelled back in Jim's face out of the darkness, making him jump.

"Oh, there you are. Listen, the generator just went down in the Infirmary, and there's a kid in there that needs treatment immediately or he won't survive."

"The generator here just went down as well. Kevin's going to fix it."

Jim heard the sound of a match being struck and then Malcolm's face was illuminated in a warm orange glow.

"We need you to come fix ours. Now."

Malcolm spluttered.

"I can't-"

"Malcolm, there's no time! I'll arrest you if I have to."

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

Jim only nodded.

"Come on."

As they rushed across the now-dark street into a small room at the back of the Infirmary, Malcolm frowned at Jim.

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? The kid."

"It's bad alright."

They swung open the unlocked door to see the steel casing covering the generator. Jim lifted the casing up, and Malcolm shone his little lamp inside. The second he knelt down in front of it to take a closer look, another person hurried into the small room. The young nurse cleared her throat.

"Dr. Shannon told me to tell you, 'Malcolm, I _need_ the beds back up _now_. There's no telling how long he can last with those lacerations.'"

Malcolm glared at her before turning back to his own patient.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm trying."

He stuck his head into the machine and they heard him tapping around for a moment before he pulled his head out and smacked the side of it in frustration.

"Blast! The generator's well and truly dead."

The nurse frowned.

"But I thought it wasn't supposed to be affected because of the Faraday cage .."

"No .. it's not." Malcolm looked at Jim grimly. "It's been smashed."

* * *

A few of Hooper's men ran back snickering to the small group outside the fence.

"We did it, sir. Generators disabled."

"Good."

"Generators?!" Mira turned on Hooper furiously. "I told you to leave the generators. The main power source was all we needed. You disobeyed my orders."

"Yeah, well. I figured why not get some back on these colonist saps for all they've put us through recently. A little payback never hurt anyone .. much." He turned to snicker with his men again, but a solid whack left him sprawling dazed on the ground. Mira growled above him.

"One of those generators runs the Infirmary. Sick people are not a threat to us. We leave the Infirmary alone. You hear me?"

Hooper sat up, rubbing his hairless scalp indignantly.

"You going soft, Mira?"

There was a rustle behind him and Carter's warning voice spoke close to his ear, making him jump involuntarily.

"Not as soft as you'll be in a minute if you keep this up."

"Bah!" Hooper stomped a few feet away to stand in the comforting companionship of his own men. "You jungle rats are all the same."

Mira watched him warningly.

"You've already cost us time. Now sit down and shut up." She exchanged a look with Carter. "Wait for my signal."

He nodded and she silently disappeared into the jungle.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

"Oh, GREAT." Malcolm clutched the screwdriver tightly in an attempt to stop himself from pegging it across the room.

"What now?"

"This is _useless_. ABSOLUTELY _USELESS_." As Malcolm dove back under the cover, a figure appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, there you are, Commander. Can I have a word?"

"Sure."

With an apprehensive glance at Malcolm, Jim followed Guzman outside.

"What's up? Oh, hang on. Skye?"

Skye looked up at him from her post at the Infirmary door.

"Can you go watch Malcolm for me? Make sure he doesn't huff and puff and blow the shed down."

Skye looked slightly concerned, but nodded.

"Uh .. sure."

As she entered the room, Jim turned back to Guzman.

"What's up?"

Skye was greeted by a loud grunt and the somewhat humorous sight of Malcolm's form trying to squeeze into the generator casing, trying to get at something in the back.

"Everything .. okay?"

"Does it-" Malcolm extracted himself from the casing with a bent circuit board in his hand. "Does it LOOK okay?!"

Skye smiled sympathetically at him and came a little closer to see what exactly he was doing. There were parts of things strewn all over the shed.

"For what it's worth, Dr. Shannon has the kid stabilised for now. They've managed to stop the bleeding."

"It won't hold out forever though, will it?!"

Skye shook her head silently under Malcolm's scathing look. He dived back under the generator case as Jim poked his head back into the room.

"I have to go. Someone thought they saw a couple of Sixers near the west fence."

Malcolm's head appeared again.

"Yeah, great, just go and leave me here to fix this mess on my own."

"You'll manage. Besides, you're not alone."

Skye objected to this.

"I can't stay. I have to get back to my post."

"Already taken care of." Jim waved his hands like he was pretending to be a magician. "You just stay here. This is where I need you."

He made a face and nodded in Malcolm's direction, but the researcher was too busy scowling at something in his hand to notice. With a smile and a mouthed "good luck" to Skye, Jim disappeared.

"Here." Malcolm grumbled and felt around for something. "If you're going to stay, you might as well make yourself useful and hold the lamp."

Skye obeyed, but every few seconds, Malcolm would complain about something else.

"_No_, I said hold it STILL."

"LEFT, not right. Are you dyslexic?!"

"This colony _always_ expects me to fix their problems. Well, guess what - I'm not a miracle-worker!"

"_BLAST_."

A loud snap accompanied this last utterance, and Malcolm threw half of another chip at the far wall. Running his hands through his hair, he shook his head.

"Someone's really done a number on this. I can't fix it."

"Well, can you replace it?"

"Not if the others are as badly damaged as this one."

Skye watched Malcolm sympathetically as he looked around helplessly at his mess.

"We need a new plan. I can't repair this the way it is. I need help."

He suddenly stared up at Skye, who began to feel vaguely uneasy under his hawk-like gaze.

"Lucas." He muttered to himself, beginning to scrabble in the junk for something.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Aha!" Malcolm picked up a dented power cell. "It just might work .."

"What-"

"Skye." He was staring again. "I need you to get Lucas."

Skye was bewildered.

"What? But he can't-"

"Ohh, yes he can." Malcolm laughed. "That's the genius of it."

Skye stared at him, growing more concerned with every passing minute.

"Of .. what?"

"Look, the last time I modified his cuffs, I added a feature. A feature he never knew existed, but I thought might come in handy one day. I was right."

"What? What feature?!"

"He can leave his house. He just needs to be within 10 metres of the person wearing these." Malcolm jingled the tags around his neck. "I need you to go get him. Bring him to me. I need help with this, or I'm never going to finish it."

"You can't just set Lucas free. Look, I'll help you! Just tell me what to do."

"No offence, but you're not quite up to the job. Besides, he won't BE 'free', he'll be with you!" Malcolm watched her for a moment as she shook her head slowly. Finally, he ran out of patience.

"Look, you're an actual member of the security team now. Are you going to start pulling your weight or not?"

As Skye frowned indignantly and opened her mouth to protest, Malcolm put his hands up.

"Yeah, look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just .. please." He removed his tags and held them out to her. "We're running out of time."

With a sigh, Skye reluctantly accepted the tags and ran outside, throwing them around her neck.

* * *

"This is RIDICULOUS." Hooper growled to the man beside him, who just happened to be one of Mira's lieutenants. "Why should we stay here while Mira goes out and has all the fun?"

The man beside him finished tying his dreadlocks back before replying.

"Because we were told to."

Hooper snorted.

"And you do everything Mira tells you .. why?"

The Sixers' black eyes stared into Hooper's expressionlessly.

"Because she's our leader. And considering you owe her your life, I'd try to be a little more respectful."

Hooper scoffed.

"What, a bit of food? We would've survived."

"Doubtful, but that wasn't what I was referring to."

A couple of the other Sixers glanced over curiously at this statement. Hooper frowned.

"Then what?"

The dreadlocked man stood up and looked down at Hooper.

"If Mira hadn't stopped me, I would've killed you weeks ago."

As he walked away, Hooper angrily tried to quench the thrill of panic in his stomach.

"Whatever. I ain't afraid of you. Or your dragon lady boss."

"Is that right?" Mira appeared from the trees behind them. At her unexpected voice, Hooper jumped again, which just made him all the crosser. Mira stepped out in front of them.

"Change of plans. Forget Lucas' house. We keep watching and waiting." She stared around at the ragged bunch she could barely see in the dim light. "I would also warn you to be careful. Looks like we've got bigger problems than the security guards. Something else has been taking them out for us. Bit of a mess around the back of the Lab, too. Keep your eyes open."

After a few moments of silence, one of the Phoenix men piped up.

"We've been waiting long enough already. Why can't we just run in there and grab him?"

"Too many houses. Houses mean people. We're not gaining him at the risk of losing some of us. If he's going where I think he's going, we'll have our opportunity soon. Like you said .." Mira stared down at him. "We've been waiting a long time already. We can wait a little longer."

* * *

As Skye approached Lucas' house, she thought she heard a faint rustling in the garden behind her. Turning and seeing nothing but the moonlight reflecting off the shiny leaves, she continued on. Ever since she had left the Infirmary, she was sure something had been following her. Was it Sixers? That creature from the forest? Yet, whenever she turned around uneasily, there was nothing to be seen. Lucas' bright house stood out like a beacon amongst the other dark houses. Skye ran up to it, thankful to see even Silas guarding the door.

"Irving. I've come to get Lucas. Dr. Wallace sent me. Open the door."

Naturally, it wasn't as easy as this. With the radios down, no one had been able to call ahead and update Silas, and he was the suspicious type. Curran had joked once that he was born staring at the midwife with narrowed eyes because she didn't have as deep a voice as his mother.

"Not a chance." Irving shook his head with a laugh. "Even if Malcolm did need him, there's no way .. in this world .. he'd send .. you." In the process of this little speech, he had walked toward her. Now he stood directly in her path, arms folded. Skye looked up at him.

"Do you want the job of explaining to Malcolm why the one person he asked for never showed up, why the generator was never fixed, and why the child they were trying to save _died_ .. because you stood in the way?"

Silas shifted in annoyance.

"Fine. See if your puppy will come to you."

He wandered over to the front of the house and swung the door open. Lucas was standing just inside the door already. Irving retreated a few metres to watch as Skye called out.

"Lucas, Malcolm needs your help in the Infirmary. He can't get the generator going, and they need it in a hurry. Let's go."

Lucas leaned on the inside wall, watching her with a suspicious smile.

"No thanks."

"It's safe to come out, I promise. Trust me."

"Right. Remember the last time I trusted you?"

"Oh." An emotional voice came from the side. "This .. This is touching. Seriously, I can barely see through my heartfelt tears."

Lucas stared at Skye.

"Ohh, please let me hit him."

Skye smiled.

"You'll have to come out here first."

Silas' face dropped. Would she really let Lucas hit him? He turned to her.

"Look, I know we haven't always been the best of friends, but we're on the same team, you and I. You can't just let someone come in and put a wedge between us."

Skye stared blankly at him for a moment before looking past him back at Lucas.

"Lucas, either trust me and come out here, or I'll shock you anyway."

Lucas, seeing no help for it, took a tentative step toward the door, grumbling quietly to himself.

"Not really trust if you force someone to do it, is it?"

"Hurry up!"

He glared at her, took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold and out of the house. Then he waited in agonising suspense for the painful zap .. or worse, the needle. Neither came. He looked up at Skye in surprise.

"Is the generator down?"

"How did you know your house ran on a generator?"

Lucas shrugged as he walked over to her.

"Guessed."

Silas had taken a few steps back.

"Look, take him if you want. What am I supposed to do now, guard his house?!"

"I'm sure you'll find something." Skye glanced up at her new ward, frowning suspiciously. "What happened to your face?"

"Oh, that." Lucas touched his right eyebrow gingerly. "Minor disagreement. You should see the other guy."

".. right."

As they walked away, he looked at her curiously.

"Did Malcolm really send you?"

She frowned in confusion.

"Yeah, of course. Why?"

Lucas shrugged and looked back at his house.

"The lights are still on, which means the generator can't have gone out .." He frowned. "Then why .."

He froze as the sound of a pistol charged beside him. When he turned to look warily at Skye, he saw the end of her sonic. Oh, it was pointed at him alright, but she wasn't even looking in his direction. When the people across the street had walked far enough away, she turned back to him and kept walking.

"The cuffs have a built-in distance detector. While you're close enough to these .." She jingled the tags around her neck. ".. you'll be fine. If you get too far away .." Her eyes lit up and she raised her eyebrows. ".. Zap."

Lucas raised his own eyebrows at her and nodded slowly.

"So I can walk, what 5, 10 feet away .. ?"

He began walking backwards away from her. Skye watched him impatiently.

"Come on! We don't have time for this!"

"Alright, alright." Lucas returned as his cuffs started to beep. "Nice."

He studied them for a moment before glancing at her questioningly.

"So any further and I get zapped?"

"I guess." Skye stared sideways at him in annoyance.

Lucas frowned.

"So if the cuffs still work, what's the sonic for?"

"Appearances."

"Ah."

Skye nudged him with the pistol.

"Well, go on then."

Lucas grinned and kept walking. After a few minutes, he turned to her soberly.

"Haven't seen you for a while."

"What, are you surprised? After you practically kicked me out of your house last time?"

"I didn't!" Lucas protested.

Skye just looked at him. When he realised she wasn't going to make any reply, he sighed and added,

"I just .. needed to think."

"You couldn't have said that?"

".. apparently not."

"Apparently not." She muttered to herself.

After a few more minutes of silence, he burst out,

"Alright, fine. I could've handled it better." He had slowed to almost stopping as he watched her. "I'm sorry."

Skye paused and frowned at him, shrugging.

"It's fine."

Lucas looked unsure.

".. is it?"

"Sure!"

They stared at each other for a moment uncertainly before Skye tapped him on the arm with the pistol again.

"Come on. We should've been there by now."

Lucas nodded, suppressing an eye roll. They continued walking.

"So what happened to the generator anyway?"

"I don't know, really. It must've shorted out with the electromagnetic .. blast .."

She glanced beside her, but Lucas had stopped a few feet away and was staring at the wall of a nearby house.

".. wow."

"Lucas!" Skye wanted to pull his hair out in frustration as she turned back to him. "We don't have time to stop and admire the scenery! We have to get back. NOW."

"Bucket, be quiet." Lucas had unconsciously used the forbidden nickname, but Skye barely noticed. She glared at him exasperatedly, but he wasn't looking at her.

"Do you not understand how frustrating you are, or do you just not care?! There's a kid in the Infirmary with serious injuries, and if we don't-"

"SKYE." Lucas gripped her arm and spun her around to face the approaching monster. It materialised out of the dark shadows with an evil glint in its eye, never blinking as it slowly came closer. It seemed to measure every step.

"I'm guessing that was the benefactor of those 'serious injuries' you were talking about .." Lucas muttered softly. When Skye made no reply, he glanced back at the wall that had caught his interest a minute ago. The huge, deep scratches in it must've been made by this creature, but at least he hadn't made it through the walls and into the house.

"When I say go, we have to make a run for it. We just passed the door of this house on the right. Head straight for it. Understand?"

Skye managed a nod. The creature seemed to have paused and was watching them like a statue a few metres away.

"Go!"

Skye took a shot at it with her sonic and they fled around the corner of the nearby house, only to find that the door was locked.

"HELP! LET US IN!" Skye screamed, as an angry growl came from around the corner. The door suddenly unlocked and was swung open.

"Come! Quick!" The old woman shut and locked the door firmly behind them once more as they bolted in. They sat leaning against the inside wall, trying to regain their breath. The creature appeared to have given up. Lucas closed his eyes and laid his head back.

Skye swallowed and nodded gratefully at the woman.

"Thanks."

Francis nodded, glancing warily out the window.

"My pleasure, dear. What was that creature?"

Skye leaned her head back against the wall and took a deep breath.

"A dinosaur. I forget what Malcolm called it."

"A Kaprosuchus, I think." Lucas supplied, opening his eyes to look at them. "I've never seen one here."

Francis smiled at them and walked around behind the kitchen counter.

"Well, no matter. You're safe now."

"Actually, carnivorous dinosaurs have been known to tear through doors and windows in order to get at their prey."

Skye elbowed Lucas with an indignant glare.

"Why do you feel the need to unnecessarily terrify defenceless old ladies?"

He opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it again.

".. in what situation would it be necessary to terrify them?"

Skye rolled her eyes at his reproving look, but the expressions on both their faces froze as they heard the sound of a pistol charging.

"Not as defenceless as you might think either."

They both turned to look at Francis, who was standing in front of them, weapon in hand, feet planted firmly. She pointed the gun at Lucas, who attempted to hide a grin.

"I think I like this old bird." He muttered to Skye.

"I know you now." Francis continued, addressing Lucas. "You're Nathaniel Taylor's son. You were responsible for the destruction of my daughter's house. She was devastated. She could've been killed!"

Skye raised her eyebrows at him as he stuttered.

"Ah. Sorry about that."

"Sorry won't fix my daughter's house."

Just then, a terrified scream rang out, making them all start. Skye and Lucas jumped up and Skye ran to the window. Lucas attempted to follow her, but the end of Francis' pistol held him back. The old woman glanced at Skye in concern.

"The school's over that way."

Skye's audible gasp caused both of the others to join her at the window. The Kaprosuchus was circling the school.

Francis exclaimed loudly.

"There's no time!" She grabbed Lucas' arm with her raptor claw of a hand. "Look me in the eye, young man."

Lucas obeyed, and the old woman stared into his face for a few moments before finally releasing him.

"Very well."

Skye watched in astonished bewilderment as Francis turned the gun around and handed it to Lucas. As he accepted it in surprise, Skye began to object, but was silenced by Francis' hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm very good at reading people."

Skye laughed in helpless disbelief as Lucas, now armed, turned to her and held the gun out.

"You hold my life in your hands anyway. It's up to you."

Skye uneasily glanced from the gun up to Lucas, but - to her secret relief - the decision was taken out of her hands.

"Oh, GO." Francis gave both of them a surprisingly strong shove for a woman her age. _"SAVE THE CHILDREN."_

They heard the sound of smashing glass coming from the school, and Skye relented.

"Keep that thing pointed away from me, or we'll really have problems. Come on."

Francis ushered them to the back door and opened it for them.

"Good luck! I almost wish I was coming with you."

Skye stared at her.

"No you don't."

"No, I don't."

The old woman laughed as Skye shook her head with a smile and darted out the door. Lucas came after her, planting an unexpected kiss on top of Francis' head as he passed her.

"Thank you."

Francis smiled proudly after them.

"God be with you, kids." With that, she slammed the door.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Skye took a deep breath as they ran toward the school, sonics in hand. The Kaprosuchus was already halfway through the window, while the screams inside were increasing in both volume and terror.

"Why aren't they coming out the front door?!"

The school, along with all other public buildings in Terra Nova, had been installed with a generator not long after the meteor incident, though so far the only private house that had one was Lucas'. Thankfully, it looked as though the school generator was still intact, and they could see the carnivore clearly, illuminated by the light streaming from the broken window as he tossed shards of sparkling glass around behind him.

"We need to drive it away from the school."

"So we shoot it."

"From this direction, we'd just send it running right inside."

"I didn't mean from this direction."

Lucas ran to the door of the school and tugged at it. It came more easily than either of them were expecting. Inside, the school was absolute chaos. There was a maze of tables everywhere with food and drinks and games covering them, the usual desks and most of the chairs had been pushed against the walls and balloons and confetti were strewn over the floor. They certainly had been having a party. In the corner of the room furthest away from the dinosaur, the students were huddled. They made quite a funny picture as they were all dressed up in strange costumes. In front of the colourful mass, the school teacher stood holding a baseball bat she had recently confiscated from a child. She'd have to thank Barney later. She gripped the bat so tightly that her knuckles were white. Other than that, the teacher showed no sign of fear, but stared grimly at the creature's large head coming through the window. She didn't know exactly what it was or how long she'd be able to hold it off. All she knew was that it was blocking their escape route and it'd have a fight on its hands before it got to any of her students.

Lucas and Skye burst into the room just before the Kap did, and managed to position themselves in front of the group in the corner. As the dinosaur slid the rest of its lanky form through the twisted window and into the school, it hesitated, watching them. Its eyes narrowed a little, recognising the pistol that had given it a good blast a few minutes ago. As the creature froze, so did Skye and Lucas, their sonics still trained on it. The children behind them had fallen quiet, and for a few seconds, the whole schoolhouse was silent and still. Then, with a powerful swish of its tail, the contents were swept off one of the nearby tables with an almighty crash. Still, it watched, waiting to see if they would run. Skye said later that if she hadn't known any better, she'd almost have thought she caught a faint smile on its face.

"Aim for the head." She heard Lucas mutter beside her as the creature gathered itself to spring. "Don't stop shooting until it retreats."

"No, I was going to throw my gun away after the first shot. You know, make it a fair fight."

"Oh. Good!"

Lucas tossed a dry smile sideways, completely oblivious to the strange look the teacher behind him was giving him.

Another few seconds of silence and the monster sprung. It was only in the air for a nanosecond before the combined force of the two sonics was unleashed upon it and it was thrown back against the classroom wall. As it fell, they paused, waiting. Would it try again, or had it learned its lesson? How much blasting could it take? The sonics were being rapidly depleted; they wouldn't hold out forever. The Kaprosuchus shook its head, looking dazed. It blinked its eyes slowly, refocusing back on them. After looking around the room, appearing to weigh up its options, it shot them a last cold look of hatred and jumped out the window it'd come in by, taking the rest of the splintered wooden frame with it in the process.

The teacher breathed a loud sigh of relief and dropped her bat. Zoe stepped out from the group and looked up fearfully at Lucas.

"Is it gone?"

He turned and looked down at her soberly.

"For now."

A couple of noisy gasps were heard from the children.

"You think it'll come back?!"

With a glance at Skye, who shrugged, Lucas answered honestly.

"I don't know. It might try again. More than likely, it'll probably decide it's too hard and give up."

Zoe took another couple of steps toward them.

"Daddy said we had to stay here until the power came back on. Will you stay with us?"

Skye suddenly frowned.

"Someone should've been assigned here. They should be here guarding it already. Where are they?"

The teacher frowned in confusion.

"We haven't seen anyone since the Commander dropped in, and that was a good hour ago."

"Well .." Skye glanced worriedly at Lucas. ".. we really should be getting back to the Infirmary, but I don't see as we have a choice. We can't leave them, we can't bring them with us-"

"Did someone .. call for a hero?"

They turned to see Silas leaning on the doorframe, gasping for breath.

"We already chased it away."

"I know, Lassie." Silas grinned at Lucas as he walked over to the group. "I saw it run off."

Lucas and Skye both frowned simultaneously.

"Wh-"

"Because he follows you aroun- you know what, never mind." Irving took a deep breath and stood up straight.

"Guard didn't arrive, huh? Figures."

Skye still looked confused.

"What are you-"

"Doing here?" He finished, to Skye's great annoyance. "Heard the screams. I was wandering about, looking for a job. You know, since you took care of my last one."

"Okay!" Skye glanced at Zoe, who was frowning at Silas, as if she didn't quite know what to make of him. Turning back to him, Skye smiled with an effort.

"Then you can-"

"Stay here and look after these guys. Right."

"Great!" Skye had to stop herself from biting her own tongue off. This conversation, as amusing as Lucas apparently found it, was rapidly destroying her will to live. "Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for."

As she began to walk away, the teacher put a hand on her arm.

"Thank you. Both of you."

Skye nodded.

"Stay safe."

"And stay inside." Lucas added.

"Will do."

"Unless .." Lucas turned to Irving with an innocent expression. ".. _you_ feel like getting some fresh air. Gets a little stuffy inside."

"I'll keep it in mind." Silas replied dryly.

Skye and Lucas exited the school - ensuring the doors were firmly shut behind them - and began making their way once more toward the Infirmary, taking much greater care than they had initially. They moved quickly along now, sonics up and ready, eyes always moving, attempting to pierce through the blackness in search of invisible threats.

The safest way to get to the Infirmary would have been around by the path, but seeing as all parts of the colony were equally as dark right now and the creature could have been anywhere, they decided to cut across a small stretch of land near the inside fence. After all, they'd wasted enough precious time already.

Looking back, sticking to the road would probably have been a much smarter idea, even in the darkness, but seeing as neither of them knew what might be lurking in the shadows, the sooner they got inside, the better. This was the quickest path to safety. As they stepped out into the murky expanse, the whole world seemed to pause and fall silent. Everything around them was very still, waiting. The wind died down, the tree branches stopped swaying, and the crickets were muted. The clearing turned out to be just the opportunity the Sixers were waiting for. Mira was upon them before they realised it. Skye and Lucas never even saw them coming.

"Well, what have we here? Never thought I'd see you two working together again."

They stopped and, with a glance at each other, turned around slowly to see a few Sixers' torches crackle into flames. On either side of the torch-bearers, an archer was positioned. In front, illuminated in the weird glow of the flickering light, stood Mira. As they raised their pistols to centre on her, she folded her arms and raised her chin defiantly.

"Our weapons may be primitive, but let me assure you, they're just as effective as yours."

"What do you want, Mira?"

"You know what I want."

"Me." Lucas spoke up, fixing the leader of the Sixers with a knowing smile. "She's here for me."

Skye looked from Mira to Lucas in sudden understanding.

"You know you can't go with them."

He glanced at her solemnly, but said nothing. For the first time in his life - well, in the past decade at least, he felt somewhat torn. Going with the Sixers would mean freedom, but to do so, Mira would have to get the tags off Skye, and she wasn't about to give them up without a fight.

Mira watched this silent exchange with apprehensive interest. It was exactly as she had suspected. Lucas had formed attachments in Terra Nova and forgotten his objective. Well then, one way or another, it was time to motivate him. Mira's voice took on a harder edge.

"You came here to do a job, remember? That job's not finished. You could be rich. You could be free."

"And you could go home."

Lucas' perceptive gaze didn't deter Mira. She stared back at him.

"We both could."

When he didn't answer, but continued to watch her in silence, her patience began to wear thin. She muttered something to the people closest to her and the archers both adjusted their aim to centre on Skye, who gripped her sonic more tightly. Mira looked displeased with the whole situation.

"You're only making this harder on yourself. You can't shoot all of us at the same time."

Lucas stared at her coldly.

"Your arrows won't make it past the blasts."

"Theirs will."

Lucas and Skye reluctantly turned to see several other Sixers partly emerge from the foliage on either side.

"I suggest you choose wisely and remember whose side you're on."

As they turned back to Mira, Lucas shook his head warningly.

"Hurt her, and I promise, I will never do anything for you again."

"Lucas, come with us."

This was an order, but it didn't have the desired effect.

"I can't."

"Aw, I love a good reunion." Hooper strode out from behind a large tree and leaned lazily on the fence. Mira fixed him with a withering glare, but said nothing. As she began turning back to the two Terra Novans, one of Hooper's men appeared beside him and looked apologetically at Mira.

"He wouldn't stay back. I couldn't stop him."

Hooper curled his lip at his young lieutenant, who obviously had more respect for Mira than for his own commanding officer.

"Rooney. You're finished."

Rooney managed to avoid a large part of the shove aimed at him. He crept quietly over to stand beside a Sixer of his own age. Hooper scowled at Lucas.

"Of all the ungrateful rats. We're your ticket out of here." He turned to the men standing behind him. "Do whatever it takes. We're leaving and they're both coming with us."

"I see how the land lies."

The gruff voice behind them made even the Sixers jump. The bushes rustled and out stepped Nathaniel Taylor .. with a massive gun. Lucas and Skye stared in surprised confusion and Mira remained expressionless, looking as though she'd anticipated the whole thing. Hooper was the first one to speak.

"Well, if it isn't the Bearded Wonder."

"Taylor? How did you-"

The former Commander interrupted Skye's bewildered question.

"Brig doors are magnetically sealed. Ordinarily, the generator would kick in, but it appears some well-meaning soul took care of it."

Mira glared sideways at Hooper, who, for once, looked vaguely remorseful. Taylor followed her gaze.

"Ah. It was you, was it? _Thank_ you."

Hooper, to his credit, or perhaps due to the fact that he was at a loss for words, made no reply. Taylor turned back to Lucas and held up the futuristic-looking gun. As he charged it up, the streaks down the sides of the black weapon began to glow purple.

"Planning on making a break for it, weren't ya? Well, I may have lost my position, my friends, my colony, my home, and my son .." He hesitated, looking depressed for a moment, as if up to that point, he hadn't realised just how great his loss was. When his scowl returned, his expression was more vicious than it had been a minute earlier. He took a step closer to Lucas.

".. but I will not allow you to undo all the work I've done. And I won't let you escape. I may well die tonight, but if I do, I'm taking you down with me."

The bright purple glow accented the wrinkles and hollows of Nathaniel's face and bounced off his pupils. Lucas stared at him for a moment, finally sighing despairingly.

"Fine. So be it."

He dropped his hands to his sides, but didn't release the pistol. Skye looked up at him in confusion. It wasn't like him to just give up. He hated his father. He'd never just agree to be executed like this. He'd stubbornly refuse to submit, he'd go down fighting. Why wasn't he fighting?! Lucas looked down at her with a faint smile, but said nothing.

"Taylor." Mira's sharp, commanding voice echoed through the quiet clearing. "Don't do anything you'll regret."

Taylor looked around at the small group of people in front of him and laughed quietly.

"I've already done things I regret. Most of you are here because of things I regret. You." He stared coldly at Mira.

"I should've fed you to the slashers when I had the chance. And you." Taylor's gaze moved along the line to Carter, holding a torch just to the right of Mira.

"You tried to kill me. Should've had you shot for it." Completely ignoring Hooper, Nathaniel turned to Skye with a pained expression.

"And you. Of all these people, I thought I could trust you. I never would've doubted you. I loved you like my own daughter."

Lucas had been staring expressionlessly at the starry sky over his father's shoulder - no moon, no wonder it was such a dark night - but now Skye took a step forward, drawing his eyes back to the conversation at hand.

"You can trust me! Yes, I betrayed you, to save my mother, and I'm sorry! I can't count how many times I've told you that." She smiled dismally at him, lowering her pistol. "You're like a father to me, too."

Lucas sensed the change in his father's manner and took a step forward himself, making him parallel with Skye again. Taylor smiled sadly back at her.

"I wish I could believe you. You have no idea how much .. how much you hurt me, do you?"

Skye attempted to swallow the lump in her throat as her eyes began to shine with tears in the torchlight.

"I know I hurt you. I wish I could take it back." She went to move towards him, but a gentle hand on her shoulder held her back. "I still care about you! I saved you, remember?"

Taylor was silent for a moment, as if contemplating this. Then he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"That's right, you did save me .." A small spark of hope flew into Skye's eyes, but with his next words, it was quickly snuffed out. ".. by trying to kill my son. My own flesh and blood. My only family left in the world."

Skye stared at him in bewilderment.

"But-"

"What kind of sick person would kill a man's son in front of him and expect him to love them for it?"

Skye was silent, but Lucas took that opportunity to jump in.

"I was going to kill you. She saved you. You should be thanking her, not tormenting her for it."

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS." Taylor exploded, glaring thunderously at his son. "If there's one person that does not get an opinion, it is you. You .. who have betrayed me more times than I can count, who has committed atrocities almost as bad as the _TERRORISTS_ we fought in _SOMALIA_."

Lucas shook his head slowly.

"No .. you're wrong."

"It's no use." Mira had remained quiet through this whole part of the conversation, but now she spoke up. "He's in no frame of mind to listen to reason."

She turned to Lucas.

"You need to make a decision. Now."

They all turned to Lucas, watching him as he watched Mira. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke impassively.

"You already have my decision."

Before Mira could answer, another voice interjected.

"Hahaa, I knew it. Thought you could get away from here when no one was looking, didn't you, son?" Taylor's eyes darkened, his massive weapon still pointed directly at Lucas. "Thought you'd run away with the Sixers and mount a second attack against this place, did you? Not. On. My. Watch."

Just then, the thick foliage behind Taylor rustled. Lucas and Skye noticed the large head peering threateningly out of the bushes at the same time.

"Taylor, behind you!" They watched in horror as the creature began slinking out of its hiding spot. Taylor laughed.

"Been around too long for that one to work, I'm afraid. Sorry, Skye."

The dinosaur decided to make its move. As it lunged forward, Skye sucked in her breath and Lucas raised his pistol again.

"Taylor, get out of the way!"

Nathaniel prepped his gun with another rough laugh.

"If that's the way you want it .."

"DAD!" Lucas screamed as the monster growled and prepared to leap onto its prey. Taylor finally realised something was seriously wrong and spun around, coming face to face with the creature's menacing teeth. Having run out of time to use his own weapon, Taylor had just enough time to leap out of the way as Lucas fired at the Jurassic predator. Skye's shots were right behind his, and a few arrows were set flying as well. This time, the blasts weren't close enough to do any real damage, and the arrows bounced off the rock-hard skin. Nothing seemed to deter it for long. As Taylor lay where he had fallen, the creature approached him. Lucas and Skye watched in agonising suspense as it drew nearer to Taylor's still form. Their sonics were completely drained and useless, short of throwing them. The Kaprosuchus stalked gracefully around its prey, growing closer and closer with every circle. Little did they know that Taylor was still very much conscious, and momentarily, his playing dead act would reward him. When the dinosaur was within a few feet of him, Taylor rolled over and discharged his weapon into its shoulder. The creature roared in pain and fell backwards. Taylor stood up and watched as it regained its strength and limped away, beaten. A few seconds more would see the Kaprosuchus disappear wounded back into the jungle.

With a relieved sigh, Skye suddenly realised how dark the clearing had gotten. She turned to look behind her, but instead of torches and war paint, saw only trees. Mira and the Sixers were gone. Lucas followed her gaze, shaking his head with a smile. Mira was good, he'd give her that.

Of course, as you've probably noticed, for that space of a couple of seconds, they both - somewhat thoughtlessly - took their eyes off Commander Taylor. They realised their mistake a moment later when they both turned back to the darkness in front of them, only to exclaim in surprise. The clearing was as black and still as it had ever been, the stars glittered brightly above .. and Commander Taylor was gone.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Lucas and Skye had walked back in almost complete silence, both deep in their own thoughts. They'd forced themselves to stay alert for more possible danger, but with both their sonics and their spirits depleted, they felt they were pretty helpless against an attack if another one was to come. Thankfully, there were no more incidents, and as they finally approached the Infirmary, they noticed the lights had come on again. Evidently Malcolm had been able to fix the generator after all. When they reached the door, Skye turned and smiled tiredly at Lucas, holding her hand out.

"This is as far as you go with that, I'm afraid. I somehow don't think Mr. Shannon would be too impressed if I let you walk in with a gun, even if it is an empty one."

She stifled a yawn as Lucas reluctantly handed the weapon over.

"'Mr. Shannon'. Polite little thing, aren't you?" He blinked hard, trying to clear the tired haze from his eyes. "Don't make me start."

"Too late." Skye watched as Lucas smothered a yawn with the back of his hand, before nodding in the direction of the door.

"Go on then."

She holstered her own sonic and, with the other in her hand, followed Lucas inside. The first thing they saw was Malcolm, sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, eating a bagel. When he saw them, he jumped up, only barely remembering the coffee balanced on his knee and grabbing it just in time.

"Where have you been?! Jim just went out looking for you!"

Skye and Lucas glanced at each other and Malcolm's eyes narrowed.

"We were slightly .. delayed."

"'Delayed' how? What's going on? And why do you look so exhausted?! It's 7:30!"

"Long story."

Malcolm stared at Skye suspiciously. His curiosity had been awakened; there would be no satisfying him now until he got answers. Lucas made a half-hearted attempt at changing the subject.

"I see you got the generator working. How's the kid?"

"I didn't, actually. And he's fine. Now _what_ is going on?"

"Skye! Are you alright?"

Before she could answer either question, Skye was smothered in Josh's lab coat (I know what you're thinking - "EW, it had his nose blood on it!". Thankfully, his mother had made him put on a clean one the first chance she got. Unfortunately, they couldn't do much for the bruising on his face).

When he released her, Skye stared up at him in surprise.

"Your face! What-"

She halted mid-sentence, watching Josh for a moment before glancing suspiciously at Lucas. When he failed to suppress a guilty grin, she turned back to Josh with raised eyebrows.

".. the other guy, I presume?"

Josh grinned at her in confusion.

".. what?"

Lucas began speaking before she could offer any sort of explanation.

"We're both fine thanks, Shannon."

"Oh." Josh turned to him. "You know, that is such a relief. Your safety in particular is always my first concern."

Lucas nodded solemnly.

"Thought so."

"Well, well, get on with it! What happened?" Malcolm spluttered impatiently, but when Skye reluctantly started telling the story, he interrupted her again.

"Oh, wait, wait - BRADY!"

The three young adults stared at him in wonder as he set off for the far door.

"BRA- oh." as Brady stuck his head into the Infirmary exasperatedly "Go find Jim, will you? Tell him everything's fine and they made it here. He walked in the direction of Lucas' house."

Brady nodded sharply and disappeared back out the door, while Malcolm gestured for the others to follow him. When they were all finally seated in the small room at the back, Malcolm shut the door with a bounce of his eyebrows.

"_Now_ .. you may begin."

Skye began again as Malcolm listened intently. When she was halfway through the story, Jim turned up and she had to start all over again. Finally, she finished, and as Josh left the room, Jim shook his head.

"Not good. They need Lucas. They'll be back for him." He leaned back against the wall from his seat on one of the examination tables. "I was hoping they'd stay away."

The room fell into silence as Jim frowned and contemplated the situation. A vague plan was beginning to form in his head. If they continued life as usual and tried to forget the attack, they'd be sitting ducks when the next one came. But if they somehow got to the enemy first .. they couldn't be far away yet ..

Malcolm looked up to see Jim staring at him.

"What."

"Oh." Jim blinked. "I was just thinking you better get that generator fixed as soon as possible. If we don't return Boylan's soon, I don't want to be responsible for the consequences."

He laughed as poor Malcolm groaned despairingly, before turning his attention to Skye, who had stood up abruptly.

"What about Taylor?"

Jim studied her with a sad smile.

"Not sure there's much we can do in that department, kiddo." He glanced at Lucas. "If I know him at all, I think he'll probably go back to living out there and we'll never see him again."

Lucas nodded quietly, but Skye was still struggling internally with herself. Why, after all this time, did the thought of never seeing him again upset her? Jim put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, kiddo. If there's one person that can survive out there, Taylor's made for it. He's gone back to his tree, I'll bet."

Jim laughed, and a small smile from Skye rewarded his efforts.

"Besides, he hated it in the brig. If he spends the rest of his life out there, he'll be happy, I think."

Lucas looked up curiously.

"Why don't you release me into the wilderness as well, then, if you're happy to have him out there?"

Jim stared patronisingly at him.

"Because he's not bent on world domination."

"That's your opinion."

"Lucas .." Jim suddenly looked exhausted. "I'm not having this conversation with you again at this time of night. Go put your indignation to use fixing the generator."

Whatever he had expected Lucas' reaction to be, Jim was surprised when he grinned.

"Alright." He jumped up and swiped Malcolm's knee. "C'mon, Malcolmus."

Malcolm glared up at Lucas and then at Jim as an odd choking sound burst from the latter. As Malcolm got up, he pointed accusingly at Jim.

"This is all your fault."

"Mhm." Jim smiled unrepentantly. In fact, he looked almost proud of himself. He turned to Skye. "And you - if you're not too sleepy - can go and help Ogawa in the supply room. Your shift is up at 10:00."

She nodded quickly and stood up.

"Will do." As she headed for the door, Lucas cleared his throat loudly. She stopped and stared at him for a moment before realising what he was referring to.

"Oh. Right." Skye walked back a few steps and held the tags out to Lucas, who raised an eyebrow at her in amusement, but made no move to take them. After a second or two, a hand came from the side and took the tags.

"Oh." She realised her mistake and glanced to her right at Malcolm, who held the tags and scowled at her disapprovingly.

Jim had been watching silently up to this point, but now he stepped forward.

"Good luck with the generator. I'll take Skye to the supply room. You know, just in case she gets lost."

She turned around and smiled sheepishly at him, shaking her head in bewilderment.

".. good idea."

* * *

Malcolm led Lucas inside to the corner where the broken generator had been cast aside to make room for the working one.

"Here we go!" He smacked the dented machine swiftly. "She's all yours."

Lucas frowned at the badly beaten generator.

"Hooper doesn't do things halfway, does he?"

"It would appear not."

Lucas surveyed the pile of scraps and odd parts that Malcolm had left beside the generator. He had collected them and cleared up the mess in the shed to the best of his ability, but now half of the generator was lying on the floor beside it. Malcolm sighed reluctantly as he stared at his enemy once more.

"Well, better get to work."

Lucas glanced at Malcolm, following his gaze back to the sad-looking machine. He knelt down in front of it.

"Hand me the screwdriver, will you?"

* * *

The night drew on as they worked. Every now and then, an odd noise would burst out from the shed, but everything would fall silent again a few moments later. Once, the Infirmary lights flickered, but the power stayed on. Just after 11:00, Skye was discovered asleep in a corner of the supply room and promptly woken up and sent home. Jim had made sure she got home safely and, upon arriving back at the Infirmary, had been instructed to take a nap on the waiting room couch. Still no sign of Lucas or Malcolm. There had been no strange noises for a little while now. In the early hours of the morning, Elisabeth stopped for a coffee break and decided to go check on them.

At first glance upon entering the shed, they both appeared to be sleeping - Malcolm sitting in the corner with his head resting against the wall, and Lucas draped over the generator casing. Both were still and had their eyes closed. After a few seconds, however, Lucas' eyes flickered open and he stared at Malcolm hazily for a moment before his eyes jumped across to Elisabeth. As Malcolm stirred, his apprentice's eyes hurriedly shut. Malcolm sat up wearily and yawned into his sleeve. In the height of his yawn, he happened to glance across and catch Elisabeth's eye, startling him abruptly out of his stupor.

"Elisabeth! How-How long .. I was just resting my eyes."

Elisabeth nodded into her coffee cup as she took a sip.

"Mhm."

As Malcolm stood up wearily, Lucas stirred and sat up, looking as though he'd been sleeping for ages.

"Oh. What's the time?"

A snort from Elisabeth made Malcolm jump again, and he frowned at her in confusion. She ignored him and looked around the shed.

"Half-past two. Is it working?"

"Yes!" Lucas threw his fists up in the air in lazy triumph. "It's working."

"The Infirmary is actually running off it now." Malcolm explained, as Jim wandered in behind his wife.

"You got it working? Nice job."

"Nice job indeed." Elisabeth agreed. "The generator's working, my patient is stable and doing very well considering the circumstances. The night staff took over a little while ago. I suggest we all go home and get some rest. It's been an .. eventful .. night."

"That's one word for it." Malcolm mumbled. As he made his way toward the door, Jim stopped him.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Malcolm?"

The researcher glared at him.

"What?"

"The borrowed generator."

Malcolm stared at him in exasperation.

"You want to return that _tonight?_ Oh, come on .." He groaned loudly. "Boylan can jolly well do without it for one night."

"So who's going to return it tomorrow? You?"

As Malcolm glared at Jim in silence, Lucas shook his head.

"Come on, stop it. Let's just take it. Then we can all go to bed."

Elisabeth nodded approvingly.

"A very good idea. Now, are one of you going to help Lucas carry the generator, or shall I do it?"

Jim smiled at her and shook his head, but Malcolm - who evidently didn't cope well with lack of sleep - rolled his eyes and huffed loudly again. He made his way over to the generator and took the other side of it, muttering to Lucas in the process.

"Goody two shoes."

Lucas chuckled quietly, which, naturally, only served to irritate Malcolm further.

Half an hour later, the generator had been delivered and Jim had headed home with Elisabeth. Malcolm, feeling a little better now that there was no insurmountable task between him and sleep, dropped Lucas off at his house on the way home. Lucas stepped back across the threshold and into his house with a small sigh. He turned to Malcolm.

"Make sure you go home to the right house."

Malcolm snorted and nodded.

"Right. Well .." He glanced out into the dark street before turning back to Lucas. ".. sleep well, genius. You've earned it."

With a final dismissive pat and another unbidden yawn, Malcolm left to seek out his bed. Lucas watched him go, threw off his shoes, collected his blanket, and then a few moments later, collapsed onto his own bed with an exhausted smile.

It had been a very long night.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

A little after midday, as the sun streamed through the window, Malcolm sat bolt upright in bed, his hair sticking out all over the place. Wait. Wait, wait, WAIT._ THAT WAS BRILLIANT._ He leaped out of bed and ran to his study, pulling a massive sheet of Plexiglass down from the wall. He hadn't even bothered to put on his slippers before he began to scribble on it madly. An hour or so later, he stepped back and surveyed his work. He was a genius.

* * *

Malcolm poked his head into the Shannon's living room.

"Jim. Jim!"

Jim turned from eating his 2:00 pm 'breakfast' at the table and exchanged a humorous smile with Elisabeth.

"Come in, Malcolm."

"No time! Meet me at my lab in ten minutes!"

"But wh-"

Malcolm's head disappeared and then popped back in again half a second later.

"And bring Lucas!"

Then he was really gone, and Jim and Elisabeth stared at each other in bewilderment.

"What on earth is he up to this time?!"

Elisabeth laughed, shaking her head.

"I have no idea, but whatever it is, something tells me he's going to spontaneously explode if he doesn't get it out, so you better do as he says."

Jim jumped up, finishing off the last bite of his sandwich.

"Did you see his hair?! Looks like something already 'spontaneously exploded'."

Elisabeth grinned at him, but said nothing. After a few seconds, Jim sighed.

"Very well. A commander's work is never done."

He placed a kiss on his wife's head and proceeded to the door, turning to point at Elisabeth before he exited.

"Okay, but just so we're clear - you didn't disagree with me about the whole hair thing!"

"Jim! Go!"

He ducked through the doorway, his wife's indignant laugh following him outside.

* * *

Malcolm was hovering near the door impatiently when they arrived at the small room adjoining his lab.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Sit, SIT."

With an amused glance at each other, Jim and Lucas sat down in the prepared chairs. Not a second after they were seated, Malcolm spun the Plexiboard around to face them. He pulled an electronic pen out of his pocket and placed a small dot on the board.

"A few years ago, as we all know, the government discovered a few tiny fractures in the fabric of space and time. These fractures are invisible to the naked eye - only a few microns wide."

Malcolm drew two lines.

"Theoretically, it works like this. When the time fractures dilate - like an expectant mother's birth canal .." Lucas and Jim both winced at this, and Lucas' lip curled in displeasure. Malcolm ignored them and continued. ".. they can only stay open for 18 minutes. This allows humans, vehicles, cargo, anything else you can think of to pass through on two conditions:

One - That they pass through within those 18 minutes.

And Two - That the item passing through be small enough to fit through the fracture."

Lucas nodded impatiently.

"Everyone knows that. Continue."

Malcolm proceeded, growing more excited with every passing minute.

"Well, up until now, we thought it was impossible for those fractures to be dilated naturally, which was why the only way to get here from 2149 .. and back .. was to create a way to manually dilate the fractures ourselves and then wait for the optimum time to do it. After the first couple of pilgrimages, our researchers were able to roughly guess the dates the fracture would be the most elastic, based on the patterns in the subatomic energy surrounding it - hence the less-than-metrical pilgrimage dates - but it was never thought possible for the fractures to dilate on their own! - and yes, I said fractures. I believe there are many more waiting to be discovered."

Lucas nodded again.

"It's true. The Badlands appear to be riddled with incredibly unstable fractures, or at the very least the outlets of those fractures. When you get close, it's like a light show. Constantly flickering and flaring up and vanishing, only to start all over again a couple of minutes later."

Malcolm pointed at him with the pen.

"Right! Now, the question we've been asking ourselves is 'How did the ship's figurehead get here and where did it come from?', correct?"

"Well, actually, that's two questions .."

Malcolm scowled at Jim for a moment before turning back to his board.

"I believe there is a natural phenomenon that happens from time to time that causes the fractures to dilate on their own, and which allows them to grow to much larger sizes than we're able to stretch them to. See, look .. this is our Earth."

He drew a sad circle that rather looked like it had been sat on.

"And _this_ .. is parallel universe, 2149 Earth .."

"Well, actually, it'd be 2150 by now, wouldn't it?"

Malcolm glared at Jim again as he violently scribbled another lop-sided circle on the board.

"Technically, yes, but for the purposes of this demonstration, it is irrelevant!"

As Jim subsided, he continued excitedly.

"These Earths are rotating in similar tracks at nearly the same time, only opposite each other. I believe that when the rotations of the two Earths overlap perfectly, for a short space of time, it-"

"Causes all of the fractures to enlarge and create bridges to the other planet's time stream!" Lucas had jumped up so quickly, he hadn't even noticed knocking over his chair. "But then, wouldn't the people on 2149 Earth have noticed them before now?"

Malcolm shook his head slowly.

"Not necessarily. There doesn't appear to be too many of these fractures around, and - I haven't proved this, mind you, but I don't think _all_ of the fractures open when the rotations collide. It depends on a few other factors as well."

Jim hurriedly picked up Lucas' chair as the young physicist sat down again.

"Such as?"

Malcolm looked thoughtful.

"Well - and I'm theorising again here - it could be possible that the dilation of the fractures is dependent on the outside temperature. Should the intersection of the parallel Earths always occur when 22nd century Chicago is in the middle of winter, perhaps the molecular bonds aren't vibrating quickly enough to trigger the reaction and stretch the time portal. As we all know," with a glance at Jim "molecules move faster in higher temperatures - the higher the temperature, the more elastic the bonds become, causing some materials to melt in high temperatures. If we assume the atomic bonds have to be elastic in order to enlarge the fractures, perhaps it would offer some explanation on why the fractures haven't been documented until recently."

"And the points of origin of the Badland fractures might be located somewhere that's hot and humid most of the time - such as the Caribbean. Hence the ship." Lucas added.

"Correct!" Malcolm beamed at his quick pupil. Finally, here was someone that didn't stare at him blankly when discussing multiverse theory! "And now that I think of it, I do recall some strange legends coming out of the Caribbean region .."

"But, wait, hold on." Jim rubbed his temples. "This is all wild conjecture at this point! Surely you can't base actual facts on unproven theories .."

Malcolm snorted inelegantly.

"We're scientists, Jim. Most of our work is based on the assumption of unproven theories! We take the simplest, most realistic outcome and work off that. Take-"

"I know, I know. Occam's Razor. The explanation that assumes the least is the most likely to be true."

Lucas and Malcolm stared at Jim in astonishment. Jim frowned back at them.

"What?! Oh, come on. Give me _some_ credit. It may not be my favourite pastime, but I've read a book or two before."

Malcolm raised his eyebrows with a "who knew" expression and turned back to his Plexiboard, spinning the pen around in his fingers.

Lucas stared at Malcolm with bright eyes.

"If you're correct and this is true, I'll bet it's even possible to predict when the next crossover will take place. Like predicting an inter-dimensional eclipse!"

Malcolm nodded. "Exactly! It would also seem that the two Earths' timelines are linked. As one Earth ages, so does the other, only millions of years behind."

He turned to offer an extra explanation to Jim, who had been almost following the conversation thus far.

So say you came to Terra Nova in 2149 .." He placed a dot on one of his lines. ".. If you went back through the Portal the next year here, the time fracture would take you back to 2150, because the fractures age simultaneously. See?"

Jim frowned.

"Sure."

Lucas took over.

"The fractures seem to throw you out within a few miles of where you went in - hence the need for a Portal Terminus to tether the main fracture on our end .. that is, of course, until someone blew up the entirety of Hope Plaza .."

Jim glared at him indignantly.

"Who's fault was that? YOU made that necessary."

Lucas lifted his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. The point is, the fractures opening in the Badlands could throw things out miles away, and we don't know how many there are. The Badlands are a fairly large expanse of land, but they could be littered with all sorts of things in odd places. Chances are, that figurehead came through a natural fracture dilation a few hundred years ago. Probably sailed right into it, the fracture shrank, the ship was sawed in half, and the sand in the Badlands preserved it until the Phoenix Group dug it out recently. Who knows what else is out there!?"

Jim took a deep breath.

"But we still have no idea what their plans were with it or how they knew to look for it in the Badlands."

Lucas shrugged.

"Probably discovered another cluster of fractures on their end and calculated the position here. It's really not that difficult. As to why they wanted it .. well, you'd have to ask them. I wasn't in the habit of asking my employers to explain their actions to me."

"Maybe you should have."

"Probably. But then I probably wouldn't be here to tell the tale."

There was silence for a moment before Lucas smirked at Jim.

"You didn't really think you blew up the fracture, did you? You may have destroyed the necessary technology to enlarge it, but they'll rebuild it again, and then they'll be back. Their mission is too important to let a little explosion stop them. You may have delayed them, but you haven't gotten rid of them forever, you know."

Jim nodded, staring at Malcolm's board with a stony expression.

"We have to figure out what's really out there so that we can be ready for them." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "We have no choice - we need to go to the Badlands and investigate."

Lucas shrugged.

"One thing's for sure, it's dangerous territory. Once something can be predicted, it can be exploited, but something tells me those Phoenix guys don't understand a speck of what they're getting themselves into."

They were all silent for a moment, distracted with their own thoughts.

"What do you say, Malcolm, up for a little reconnaissance mission?"

"Me?!" Malcolm gaped at Jim in surprise.

"Sure. The less people that know about this, the better, and you were the one that came up with .. all this .." Jim gestured to the board, now almost covered with lines and squiggles, as well as illegible writing. Malcolm shook his head.

"But I'm just a scientist! I'm no good in the field!"

"Come on, Malcolm. I need you along. We'll take a few soldiers with us and leave Reilly and Dunham to hold down the fort." Jim grinned. "You're usually begging to go. This is your big chance! It'll be fun!"

"Fun." Malcolm repeated, looking glum. "Traipsing through the jungle with you?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Jim stood up and nudged Lucas' shoulder. "You're coming, too, genius."

"Me?!" Lucas repeated Malcolm's incredulous question from a few minutes ago. Jim glanced at Malcolm helplessly. The researcher offered no support. He shrugged.

"Don't look at me! I'm with him!"

Jim cleared his throat and turned back to Lucas.

"You're coming. You're the only one that's been there before, and we need your expertise." He looked over his shoulder at Malcolm. "We'll also bring Curran. He knows his way around the jungle."

Malcolm and Lucas both scoffed at the same time.

"Great. We're going to be scampering through unknown places with a couple of murderous traitors - no offence." Malcolm paused and glanced at Lucas, who leaned on his knees.

"No, I'm with you." He stared up at them. "And there is no way I'm running into enemy territory at the mercy of you two lunatics - no offence."

"None taken." Jim said dryly. "But you're coming, regardless."

Lucas shook his head firmly.

"Nope. I'll stay here, thanks."

"Come on, Lucas .." Jim sat down in his chair and stared solemnly at his victim. "This is your way to really do something good. To help the colony out. To repay us for our unfathomable kindness." Jim smiled and put a firm hand on Lucas' shoulder. "And either way, you're coming. Whether we pull you along kicking and screaming or you come with a smidge of your dignity still intact is completely up to you."

Lucas scowled at him.

"I guess I don't have a choice then, do I?"

Jim shook his head sadly.

"No. Sorry."

Lucas looked up at Malcolm, who was watching the conversation, looking almost as distressed as if Jim was addressing him.

"Fine. When do we leave?"

Jim stood up.

"Day after tomorrow, but keep it to yourselves. Only the security team knows we're going."

"What about Elisabeth?!" Malcolm protested.

Jim glanced at him in annoyance.

"Yes, and Elisabeth."

* * *

An hour or so later, after discussing their plans in depth, Jim dropped Lucas back at his house.

"Remember - not a word to anyone. _Especially_ Skye."

Lucas nodded.

"I understand."

"Good. See you in a couple of days."

Lucas sighed.

"There's no chance you'll change your mind about this, is there?"

"None whatsoever."

Jim smiled and patted the doorframe twice.

"You'll be fine."

With that, he turned around and walked back up the street, leaving a miserable-looking Lucas on the inside mat. When Jim had disappeared from view, Lucas shut the door and turned back to his kitchen. As he did, a devious smile spread across his serious face. Well, that was way too easy.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

"The Bad-"

Jim shushed Elisabeth hurriedly and she lowered her voice.

"The Badlands?! Jim .."

"It's the only way. You know they'll come back. It's only a matter of time. This way, we get to see what they're up to _first_."

"But what if they catch you?! It's too risky."

"They won't. We'll stay far enough out of their way. It's just a reconnaissance mission."

"It's never _just_ a reconnaissance mission."

"What are you two whispering about?" Their son had walked into the room unnoticed and was now standing near his parents, staring laughingly at them. "It was Maddy, wasn't it? I told you, Dad. That girl's-"

"Josh, go to your room."

The unexpected sharpness from his mother momentarily startled him and he blinked at his parents.

"What did I do now?!"

"Nothing." Elisabeth rubbed her forehead and turned to him apologetically. "Just .. please, your father and I are having a discussion."

Josh rolled his head back and sighed as he walked out of the room.

"That much is apparent."

As soon as he was gone, Elisabeth turned back to Jim and opened her mouth, but the second she did so, Josh was back. He walked into the room with his hands up and his youngest sister by his side.

"Just passing through. Don't mind us."

Jim frowned.

"Where are you going?"

Zoe looked up at Josh with a grin as he replied.

"Clean up. Colony's a mess. Boylan's putting a crew together."

His father's frown deepened.

"Josh, I don't know if taking your sister is-"

"Oh, she'll be fine. Relax. She can wash windows or something." Zoe's eager nod followed this suggestion and Josh continued. "I'll keep an eye on her. If a carno comes, I'll make sure he eats me first!"

This comment was hardly reassuring, but accompanied with a quick dig at his sister's rib cage and a resulting laugh from Zoe, their parents relented.

"Alright. But make sure you do watch her."

"Sure, Dad!" Josh swung open the door for Zoe, who nodded to him and walked through like she was going to a ball. He turned from poking tongues at her to throw a last remark over his shoulder.

"Good luck, Dad! Don't let mom roast you too badly!"

"Thank you very much, son." As the door closed, Jim turned guiltily back to Elisabeth. "So where were we?"

"You were about to tell me why this insane mission is so necessary in the first place!" Now that the children were out of the house, Elisabeth wasn't bothering to keep her voice down anymore. Jim hesitated and considered his next words carefully.

"Intel is invaluable. You must see that."

"So let someone else go! Let Guzman take a team!"

"Guzman _will_ be taking a team, but as the Commander, I have to go. I can't just let them go on their own. It's my responsibility! Don't you see that?"

"No, quite frankly. I don't." Elisabeth folded her arms stubbornly and glared at him.

Jim sighed and put his hands on her shoulders gently.

"This is something that needs to be done." He pulled her into his arms and rested his head on top of hers. "But I won't be alone. I'll have Malcolm-"

"Malcolm?!" Elisabeth immediately pulled away a little and stared up at him incredulously. "Lot of good MALCOLM will be in the jungle!"

"More than you'd think."

Elisabeth's amused snort died away when she realised he wasn't joking. Jim grinned at her.

"He thinks he'll be just as useless as you do, if it helps."

"Yes, it's very comforting." Elisabeth studied her husband's face warily. "Who else is going?"

"Well, like I said, Guzman will lead the second team and take Curran and Irving, while I take Malcolm and Lucas."

"Lucas?! Taylor?!" Elisabeth had just started to calm down, but now she shook her head despairingly. "Jim, you can't be serious .."

"We'll keep an eye on him. Don't worry. He could come in handy."

"Very handy if he makes a racket and gets you all captured."

"He won't .." Jim grinned. ".. unless he wants to be dragged home unconscious through the wilderness. And somehow the thought of being completely at our mercy out there doesn't appeal to him!"

Elisabeth smiled begrudgingly and sighed.

"Just .. promise me you'll be careful."

"You have my word. I've never let you down yet, have I?"

"No." His wife laid her head against his shoulder and replied quietly. "You haven't."

* * *

"If you splash me with that ONE MORE TIME .."

Maddy glared at Josh as he stared very hard at the water running down the wall in front of him. Eventually, he glanced over at her with raised eyebrows as if he'd only just heard her.

"Hmm?"

His sister pointed her finger at him.

"Last warning, Josh."

"Woooowww." Josh widened his eyes. "NOW I'm scared."

Zoe and Mark watched the two combatants in between them and grinned. Josh and Zoe had arrived an hour or so ago, and had been immediately instructed to clean the entire outside of the houses closest to the Bar, which had apparently suffered the worst during the night and were covered with questionable stains of various descriptions. Maddy and Mark had come along soon afterwards and started on the opposite side of the house. Now they had finally met up in the middle, inevitably causing a certain amount of chaos.

"Better listen to her, Josh. I don't think you want to see her angry."

Josh dropped his sponge arm and smiled sweetly at Reynolds.

"Mark, this may be incredibly hard for you to believe, but-"

"Stop, stop." Maddy interrupted with a roll of her eyes and grabbed Josh's arm, lifting his sponge up and placing it back onto the wall. "Just get on with your cleaning."

A few seconds later, a suspiciously large glob of soapy water landed on the side of Maddy's face. Josh stared at it in horror.

"I am SO. SORRY."

Maddy pursed her lips firmly and shook her head.

"Alright, that's it."

With surprising swiftness, she planted her soggy sponge firmly in the middle of Josh's face. Her brother spluttered and pushed away the unexpected assault, shaking his wet fringe like a dog. Maddy shielded herself as best she could from the flying droplets as Zoe quietly picked up her small water bucket. Just as she prepared to fling it at her brother from his other side, a loud voice barked indignantly from behind her.

"Oi!"

Zoe slowly lowered the bucket and all four of them looked around guiltily - even Mark, who, as of this moment, hadn't yet done anything to warrant rebuke. Boylan, coming to stand beside Zoe, looked down at her disapprovingly. Zoe squirmed under his gaze.

"I trust you're all working hard at the task I entrusted you with."

Maddy and Zoe nodded silently while the boys simply watched him.

"Good!" Boylan beamed around at them all before turning back to the smallest member of the group. He bent down to her seriously, took her small bucket and placed it to the side. He then proceeded to hand her his own larger water-filled bucket.

"Try this one instead. Bigger splash zone."

After a mischievous wink at the youngest member of the party, Boylan walked away. He had not gone 5 steps before the sound of Josh's undignified screeching pierced the air behind him, followed by the merciless laughter of the other three.

Jim and Elisabeth, wandering down to the market a little while later, were greeted by the sight of their very drenched and dripping children laughing uproariously on the equally soaked grass.

"Working hard, I see!"

At the sound of Elisabeth's laughing voice, Maddy and Mark looked up in alarm.

"Mom! We were just .."

"You see, sir, we .. uh .."

Jim waved his hand at them dismissively and turned to his other two children. Josh and Zoe were still preoccupied with wringing the last content of the sponges out on each other's heads.

"Looks like we missed an interesting afternoon."

"Daddy!" Zoe finally noticed her parents nearby and immediately abandoned her brother, dropping her sponge into his lap on the way past. Ignoring his ".. thanks.", she ran to Jim and clutched his legs, thoroughly wetting his pants in the process.

".. thank you." Jim muttered, closely echoing his son, who had now forgiven the betrayal and was watching them with enjoyment.

"You're welcome!" Zoe pulled away and smiled up at him innocently, before shooting a mischievous grin at her mother and running back to Josh. Chaos soon broke out anew and by the end of this battle, not even Jim and Elisabeth escaped unscathed.

* * *

By twilight the next day, preparations were well and truly underway for the "mission". Jim had retreated to the Command Centre to survey the available supplies. He sighed as he dumped a heavy wooden box onto the table in front of him. If they were to be off in the morning, he should really see exactly what they had in terms of portable ammunition. Radios - helpful, but not ammunition. Dusty old boots - didn't look like they'd fit any existing human. Straps - from what?! What kind of junk was Taylor keeping in here?

"Oh, please tell me no massive prehistoric insects have taken up residence in here .."

He only heard the quiet footsteps behind him a moment before their owner spoke up.

"Looking for something?"

Jim continued rifling through the decaying crate.

"Just my sanity."

The voice behind him laughed and fell silent. Jim continued his search, awaiting the inevitable question. After a few moments it came, veiled in a deceptively careless tone of voice.

"What's going on? Lucas was acting cagey all afternoon."

Jim snorted as he proceeded to rummage through a large box on his left.

"Really? I can't imagine Lucas acting suspicious."

Skye fell silent. After a few minutes, Jim glanced over his shoulder at her. She was watching him seriously.

"You're going after them, aren't you?"

"Who?" Jim abandoned his boxes and went to the cupboard.

"You know who."

Jim frowned and shook his head innocently before it disappeared behind the cupboard doors. When he resurfaced, Skye was still in the room. She appeared to be studying an old radio transceiver and didn't look at him.

"That thing looks like it's been around since the Dark Ages."

Skye smiled at him then, but her next question had nothing to do with the ancient piece of equipment beside her.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On how long it takes."

Skye nodded slowly and resumed her scrutiny of the transceiver. Jim turned to the table behind him and shuffled a couple of boxes around. Finally, he sighed.

"Well." He folded his arms and turned around to face her. "Spit it out."

".. what?" Skye frowned at him in mild confusion. She kept up the act for a few moments before relenting.

"Fine. I want to come."

"No."

As if that put an end to it, Jim turned again and surveyed his packing with satisfaction. Unfortunately, Skye wasn't about to let the matter drop so easily.

"Please! I'd be helpful. I could .. carry things." She grimaced at her own lack of eloquence. "I could keep watch at night. I've got good eyesight; I'm a good shot."

"And yet, the answer is still no."

"But why?!"

"Because." Jim turned to face her with a steely glint in his eye. "I don't want you out there. You're too young and inexperienced - not to mention your mother would kill me." He added the last part with a grin, but Skye wasn't in the mood for jokes. She stepped toward him.

"You don't understand. I have to see it for myself. I have to know what's .. what's going on out there."

"In the Badlands, you mean."

"Yes!"

"No."

"But-"

"Skye." Jim's voice was uncharacteristically sharp. "The answer is no. I've explained my reasons for not wanting you to go, and I'm not going to change my mind any time soon. There is no reason for you to be out there. You're staying."

Skye said nothing for a few seconds before visibly relaxing. She smiled up at him.

"Alright. Sorry."

Jim watched her warily.

"It's okay."

He tried to shake off his growing feeling of discomfort and resume the task at hand, but it was no use. Something about her swift submission had set alarm bells off in his head. As Skye began to walk towards the exit, Jim took a couple of steps toward her.

"Skye, I need to know you're going to obey orders and stay inside the colony while I'm gone. No running off. Can I trust you?"

Skye halted abruptly and blinked at him, as if his insight had caught her slightly off-guard. An uncomfortably long silence followed as the two of them stared at one another. Finally, Skye backed down with a smile.

"Yes. Of course."

"Good."

As she disappeared down the steps, Jim turned back to finish his packing. Somehow he didn't feel any better.

* * *

"I'm just saying, Elisabeth, you didn't see the look on her face."

"But if you can't trust her to stay behind, how can you possibly trust her out there?! She might decide to sneak off and spy out the enemy camp by herself!"

"I know, I know .." Jim pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "And yet, maybe I should bring her. Maybe it'd be good for her."

"Jim .." Elisabeth shook her head with a smile. "You've already chosen the teams! If you're bringing Silas Irving, you do not need another young soldier to look after. Skye can stay here, and if she has a problem with it, she's certainly old enough to deal with it!"

Jim sat down on the table, not looking at all comforted.

"It's just .. Now that Taylor's out of the picture, I feel like the responsibility's fallen upon me to watch out for her. How can I look after her if I'm not here?"

"Jim!" Elisabeth laughed outright now. "She's not a child. And besides, she has Deborah now."

With a glance into her husband's miserable face, Elisabeth took on a more sympathetic demeanour. She leaned on the table beside him.

"Jim. Don't worry about Skye. We'll look after her here, and if you like, you can take her next time when she's had a bit more experience." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Just make sure you bring yourself home safely."

Jim sighed and finally smiled at her.

"That .. I can do."

* * *

After much tossing and turning overnight, Skye had finally come to the conclusion that she must honour her word and stay put, no matter how much it grieved her to do so. Having made her decision at last, she slept fitfully for a couple of hours until she was woken by an unexpectedly loud knock on the door just before dawn. She slipped out of her room and opened the door tentatively, frowning when she saw the owner of the knock.

"Oh! Hi, Mr. Shannon. I-"

"I've talked it over with Reilly and you're in. But you better pack quick." He didn't mention that Reilly's reaction to the proposal had been a resounding no.

"But you said-"

"I know what I said." Jim seemed incredibly anxious to be off. "Silas has a fever of 104 (40C), and Elisabeth won't let him leave with us as he can hardly get out of bed without wobbling around the room like a drunk puppet."

As much as Skye wanted to burst out laughing at the mental picture, Jim was in no laughing mood.

"Get ready quick. I'll be back to pick you up in half an hour. We have to leave at first light." He began to walk away, but swiftly came back, running his hand through his hair in irritation. "Are you going to tell Deborah, or shall I?"

Skye swallowed. She hadn't thought of that.

"I'll do it."

"Good." Jim nodded. "Good. Right."

Skye nodded in agreement.

"Well, see you soon."

"Yes." Jim frowned, looking somewhat bewildered. "I'll be back for you soon."

He turned to leave and began to mutter to himself.

"Pack the Rhino, brief Reilly, check the gate .."

After a few seconds, his voice faded so she could no longer hear it. Skye watched him walk away for a few moments before turning herself and bolting inside.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Deborah had barely had a chance to wake up properly, much less come to terms with the idea of her only child traipsing around in the jungle after their enemies for the foreseeable future before another knock sounded at the door. With a tight hug from her daughter and an apologetic goodbye from the Commander, Skye was whisked away to join the others in front of the Command Centre. Jim immediately began barking orders in a hushed voice.

"Skye, throw your bag in that Rhino, then you can help Malcolm check his equipment. I have to check something with Reilly. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Skye nodded.

"Roger."

As Jim walked hurriedly away, Skye deposited her bag and stood beside the vehicle for a moment, looking around. Despite all of Jim's concerns, the sun showed no signs of waking up yet. The dark colony was still blanketed in a wispy cloud of mist. Skye hugged her jacket closer to herself. Winter was well over, but in these early mornings, it still seemed to hang on stubbornly. The chill would disappear quickly when the sun rose, but for now their breath still blew clouds of soft white around to blend with the existing mist. Skye smiled and turned to seek out Malcolm. He was sitting on one of the bottom Command Centre steps checking various objects off of his list.

"Ah, Skye. Perfect." He muttered, putting down his Plex and handing her the crate. "Take this to the Rhino, if you please. Be very careful with it. There are breakable items in there, and I didn't pack it very well."

Skye took the crate and frowned.

"Why didn't-"

"Never mind that, now go." Malcolm waved her away gently. "Go, go."

Skye shook her head in amusement, but obeyed. She had to walk carefully in the dim light to avoid tripping. The crash would probably give both Malcolm and Jim simultaneous heart attacks. Soon the box was safely stowed in the back of one of the Rhinos, and Skye walked around behind the vehicle to return to Malcolm. Before she had reached the other side, however, she almost ran into another figure holding a box.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled, before recognising Lucas' face as it appeared out of the mist. The following silence seemed to confirm that her sudden materialisation had caught him slightly off-guard as well. When the longest few seconds of their lives had passed, Lucas finally muttered,

"Hi."

"Hi." Skye answered, wondering suddenly if the sun was going to come up before she ever got back to Malcolm. However, Lucas seemed to have regained some of his senses. He shifted the weight of the box onto his other arm.

"You coming too, huh?"

"Yep." Skye replied, popping the P awkwardly.

"Lucky you."

"Yeah." Skye suddenly smiled. "Not so good for Silas, though."

"Ohh. Silas." An unsympathetic grin spread across Lucas' face at the realisation. "Lucky both of us."

As Skye opened her mouth to reply, Jim suddenly appeared beside her.

"We head out in 2 minutes. The market people'll be coming to set up any second. Lucas, help Curran load the rest of the supplies, will you? Skye, with me."

As Skye followed Jim away from the Rhino, she just managed to catch Lucas' muttered "You got it, boss.", but didn't have time to wonder about it before she was being overwhelmed with new instructions. Before he was finished talking to her, Jim was surrounded by the rest of the small team. Skye turned to look at them all as Jim began to address them.

"Thank you all for your efforts this morning. I know it's early, but if we're all packed and ready, I suggest we move out." After an affirmative nod from both Guzman and Malcolm, he continued. "I'll take the first Rhino. Guzman will take the second and follow us. We'll head for the Falls."

He stifled a yawn as he turned to Reilly, who was waiting patiently on his right.

"Sergeant Reilly will hold down the fort here. Good luck."

Reilly nodded with a smile.

"And to you, Sir."

"Thank you." Jim looked around the colony for a final time, feeling his role as commander really sink in at last. After muffling another large yawn, his focus returned to his team. "We should reach the foot of the Falls by midday. See you then. Let's move out."

Jim had woken very early that morning (truth be told, he had barely slept at all) and gone around room by room, saying goodbye to the very sleepy and subsequently depressed members of his family. Elisabeth had walked with him up the street to say goodbye, but had gone back to the house when instructed to. Jim was hoping she'd be able to go back to bed and get some more sleep, but though she had tried, her mind was too caught up in what her husband was about to do. She had ended up making herself a coffee and would sit watching the sunrise as Jim's small team headed out of the colony. The Commander cast a last glance in the direction of his house as he reached the Rhino.

"Don't worry. You'll see her sooner than you think."

Jim looked across the roof of the vehicle in surprise at Malcolm. The researcher raised his eyebrows and disappeared from sight. Jim gave the signal to open the gate and followed suit.

Skye had automatically started to follow Jim when he'd walked away, but after a few steps, she heard her name being called from the other direction.

"Skye, you're with me. Hop in."

She turned to see Guzman leaning on the open Rhino door. He gestured inside as the other Rhino's engine fired into action. Skye hurriedly made her way toward the vehicle. As she reached the door, she happened to look up toward the Command Centre. Reilly was leaning on the railing to watch them "ship out", but beside the Sergeant stood Deborah. Skye swallowed an unexpected lump in her throat. Her mother had come to see her off. Deborah waved cheerfully from the railing at her, and with a grin, Skye returned the wave before disappearing into the Rhino. Perhaps it was a blessing that the mist refused to let go that morning. Had it been clearer, she would've seen the tears in her mother's eyes as she waved goodbye.

"Here we go." Curran muttered half to himself as they passed under the familiar colony gate. Deborah and Reilly exchanged a miserable smile as the two vehicles rolled away.

* * *

"How about Tasha? Last time I talked to her, she hadn't seen you for a while."

"It's true, I don't see her as much as I'd like to anymore, but she seems happy! Agriculture suits her, I think."

Guzman chuckled.

"She's always had a bit of a green thumb. She had a plant when she was younger-"

"Ty, right? She used to chase me around with him! I thought he was gonna bite my face off!"

Guzman sighed thoughtfully.

"How did the years pass so quickly? She thought the world of you, Skye, you know that? I seem to recall a time when she would follow you anywhere."

"I remember!" Skye laughed. "You thought I was a bad influence."

Guzman was silent for a moment before he answered quietly.

"Were you?"

Skye blinked at the back of Guzman's head in surprise.

"I-"

"Look, I'm not trying to pick on you, but if we're going to do this, we need to trust each other. You're not a loner anymore."

With a glance at Curran, who was staring at his hands thoughtfully, Skye turned back to Guzman.

"I'm sorry .. for what happened to Tasha .. with the Sixers."

"Skye, it's alright." Guzman smiled over his shoulder at her before fixing his eyes on the road once more. "What happened that night wasn't the fault of just one person. You all played a part in it. What I want to know is if I can trust you _now_."

Even Curran had turned to watch her. Skye felt her spirits wilt. Suddenly all she wanted was to get out of the Rhino and run back to bed, but with her sudden demoralisation came an unexpected new sense of loyalty for her teammates. This mission was serious. She was one of them now, no matter what may lie ahead. Skye lifted up her chin and stared solemnly at Guzman again.

"You can trust me. I promise."

"Good." Guzman turned to smile at her again before ducking his head to see out of one of the window slats on his side of the Rhino.

"Sun's coming up. Say goodbye to the colony for a while."

The two young soldiers looked out the back of the vehicle. The colony fence was rapidly disappearing into the distance. In a few moments, it'd be gone. Curran grinned.

"Hopefully Commander Shannon's calmed down a bit by now."

Skye stared at him.

"You noticed? I've never seen him so freaked out."

"I know!" Curran lowered his voice in an effort to cut Guzman out of hearing range. "Wouldn't have wanted to be in the other Rhino this morning .."

* * *

Jim was finally beginning to relax now that they were away from the colony. For the majority of the journey thus far, the atmosphere in the lead vehicle had been one of tense silence. Every now and again, Lucas or Malcolm had ventured a comment which had either fallen on deaf ears or been acknowledged with a short word or two before the silence fell again. A few looks had been exchanged in the process, but Jim either didn't seem to notice, or didn't care. As the colony fence vanished and the sun began to stream into the Rhino, Jim sighed.

"We made it."

Malcolm stared at him in surprise.

"What, you thought we were going to be routed at our very doorstep?!"

Jim broke out into a tight laugh.

"I didn't want anyone to see us go. Sure, they'll know we've gone sooner or later, but the more time we have to our advantage, the better."

Malcolm fell silent as Lucas spoke up swiftly.

"You think they've got more spies in there?"

"I think it's more than likely, Lucas. In fact, I'd be downright astonished if they didn't. We'll have to be extra careful when we get close. If my theory proves correct, they'll have been warned to expect us." Jim glanced back at him. "If you know who the other spies are, you've been very quiet about it."

"I don't." Lucas squinted out the window slats at the sun. "Mira prefers to conduct her own business. The less people that know about it, the better."

"Smart."

This appeared to be all Jim had to say on the matter, and they rumbled along in silence for some time. Just after midday, they reached the foot of the Falls. They had gone around the back way, so as not to be spotted by any Sixer scouts in the area. It had taken longer, but Jim was adamant that they should not be seen at any part of their journey. They pulled the Rhinos up under a thick blanket of trees within earshot of the stream. The Falls could also be heard very faintly above them somewhere. Malcolm leaped out of the vehicle with a loud sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness, my back was killing-"

"Shh!"

He turned to glare at the person who had just shushed him.

"Oh, come on, Jim. You don't think-"

_"Shh!" _

Lucas and Curran exchanged a grin as Malcolm's countenance darkened.

"Jim, if you shush me one more-"

_"SHH!" _

At this, Malcolm fairly exploded.

"That is IT. IF I-"

"Malcolm, I swear, if you don't be quiet, I will have Guzman hold your mouth shut."

Jim was watching Malcolm fiercely, and with an uncertain glance at Guzman, Malcolm finally fell silent. Half a second later, Jim smiled.

"Okay, we're good."

As he placidly opened the back of the Rhino, Malcolm watched him with narrowed eyes. A second later, he thought he heard a muffled snicker from behind him, but when he turned around, Lucas and Curran seemed incredibly absorbed in looking for the water canteens.

"Right." Jim came back around the Rhino again and handed Malcolm a rather heavy box. "We're going to take an hour for lunch and then hit the road again. I want to pass the Lake by sundown. If we're lucky, we could be there in a couple days, but of course things are going to be slower once we lose the Rhinos."

Malcolm put down the box on the hood of the vehicle and began to go through it.

"I'm going to assume we'll be sleeping in the Rhinos."

"You have assumed correctly, Malcolmus." Jim deftly caught the apple that was thrown at him and took a bite of it. "Thank you! Relieve yourselves now, and fill up the water containers. Once we leave this area, I don't know how much water there is out there."

"Not a lot." Lucas interjected.

"Not a lot." Jim repeated, with a nod to his informant. "So fill up now."

As he finished talking, the others spread out with relief; some stretching, some diving for the food, and some disappearing into the bush. As Malcolm prepared to retreat into the forest, he suddenly found Lucas beside him, looking unusually uncomfortable. Malcolm scowled at him.

"What?"

Lucas looked at the tree cover overhead and sighed a little.

"I'll come with you."

".. oh." As understanding dawned, the annoyance left Malcolm's face. "Very well."

As Guzman and Curran left to go to the stream, Skye wandered over to where Jim was leaning on the Rhino, still eating his apple. She remained quiet, and after a few moments, he looked at her long-sufferingly.

"What is it now? Well, out with it."

At his prompting, she continued without hesitation.

"Why did you choose me to come? Why not one of the others?"

Jim frowned.

"Well, it was late notice, and you wanted to come. Anyone else would've been a lot more complicated to organise." He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, as though a thought had just occurred to him. "Having another female along might've been a good idea, though."

Skye grinned.

"I don't mind being the only one. I lived with Hunter and Max for years, remember?"

"True." Jim studied her for a moment. "I probably should've asked you if you were uncomfortable sooner."

"Probably." Skye shrugged and smiled at him. "But don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

As Jim nodded, looking a little happier, she added,

"Lucas, on the other hand .."

"I know .." Jim frowned. "I saw his face when you showed up out of nowhere. Somehow, I don't think he wanted you along!"

"Funny, I got that impression myself." Skye laughed and shook her head. "Well, he'll have to get used to it. Not much we can do about it now, anyway."

"No, that's right."

The other four team members arrived back from different directions at the same time and the subject was dropped, but Jim was left with the same nagging feeling of unease that had been plaguing him since the previous day. He still couldn't put his finger on the reason for it, but it was definitely still there. Shrugging his internal anxieties away, he polished off his apple.

After a break that seemed far shorter than it should have, they all piled into their transportation and were off again. As the afternoon faded, the two vehicles sped over grass and rocks. They had now well and truly left anything that resembled a path. Before long, they had left the Falls far behind. As they made their way over hills and through valleys, the sky began to glow red and gold. The fading light and the filtered wind coming through the slats made them sleepy. Skye and Curran had resorted to playing the various sorts of games one tends to fall back on in these situations, with Guzman chiming in every now and then. The lead Rhino was quieter, with only Malcolm singing softly to himself every so often. With Jim concentrating on the driving, Lucas seemed content to stare out the window for hours on end and watch the changing scenery go by. Finally, once night had fallen, Jim pulled up in a small clearing a few klicks past Arrowpoint Lake. They had agreed not to use their headlights under any circumstances, and so the rear Rhino had had to stay very close to the lead lest they get separated. This meant that they had had to travel slower as soon as darkness fell, and all were exhausted by the time they stopped. Malcolm exited the vehicle a lot less exuberantly this time. As the others cautiously left their own and looked around, a soft howl was heard in the distance. Not even Malcolm had to be told to be quiet now. No one said a word. Finally, Jim nodded to Malcolm and spoke in a low voice.

"Get the sirens out of the back and position them around the Rhinos." As Malcolm went to find the small devices, Jim turned to the others. "Go and relieve yourselves now. Nobody uses lights; be as quiet as you can. Skye, you go behind the Rhino. Don't take too long. When you come back, we'll eat inside."

Skye went somewhat red at being singled out, but no one else seemed to notice anything odd in Jim's words. Malcolm snapped each of the small siren balls in succession and threw them down onto the grass around the vehicles.

"That should discourage the majority of them." He looked up at the moon as another howl floated to them on the breeze. "Going to be a cold night, I think. Glad we brought the blankets."

Jim exchanged a wry smile with Skye as the speaker shivered and turned away. In 10 minutes, everyone was back and eating a late dinner in the lead Rhino. Jim had allowed a dim lantern inside on the condition that the windows were all blocked out. Within a few minutes of settling down, Skye and Curran had begun quizzing Lucas on what the Badlands were like.

"I've only been there once." He answered quietly. No one had yet dared to speak above a soft murmur. He took his time before continuing, trying to spread a very small amount of butter over a piece of bread that was very obviously too large for it. Skye and Curran stared at him in exasperation while the older three exchanged laughing glances. Finally, Lucas gave up his quest as lost and continued.

"Mira had been following a certain vein of meteoric ore for weeks, but with her henchmen going after it like starving wolves, it had almost dried up." Here Curran had to bite his tongue to avoid outright defending Mira's men. Lucas continued. "By my calculations, there had to be another vein nearby, probably much larger than the first, so one day we went searching for it."

"And you never found it?"

"Oh, of course we found it - right where I said it would be, but that wasn't the point." Lucas paused indignantly as Malcolm and Jim snorted in unison. "Anyway, that wasn't the point, because we found something much more interesting. The Badlands. A land full of strange things and exploding fractures of blue light wherever you looked. It was amazing."

Lucas' eyes shone with the memory.

"I'm sure Mira thought so."

"Oh, Mira." Lucas shook his head at Jim. "Mira was only interested in the ore. Once she'd mined it clean, she never wanted to go back there. 'Course, it was a little dangerous. She did lose a fair few men in there."

"But what are a few men compared with the joy of scientific discovery?"

"Exactly!"

There were a few chuckles around the group as Lucas realised his mistake. He continued on in a more subdued tone of voice.

"Well, that's how we found it anyway. I wanted to stay and study it, but Mira insisted we stick to the mission. So we left, and I've never been back."

"Well, there you go." Malcolm slapped his knee. "Now you've all had your bedtime story, I suggest we get some sleep."

As he spoke, he took the container of biscuits out of Curran's hand and fixed him with an eagle-like stare.

"And I suggest _you_ leave some rations for the rest of us."

Curran nodded with embarrassment and Jim took over.

"Well, you three back to your Rhino. We'll pack up here. Skye, you can sleep in the front seat, while the other two sleep in the back, if that's okay with everyone." Guzman and Curran nodded their agreement. "Good. Get as much sleep as you can. I'll see you in the morning. Dismissed!"

The others piled out of the vehicle and returned to their own Rhino. In a few minutes, everyone had settled down in their own spots, ready for bed. No one thought they would be able to sleep a wink that night, especially after having sat down for most of the day. They had resolved just to lie down and stare at the roof of the Rhino until morning. Despite this fact, not 10 minutes had passed before they were all snoring softly.

A couple of hours later, Skye woke up abruptly. Strange, she couldn't hear anything. What had woken her up? Had she been dreaming? She lay back against the seat and listened. After a few seconds, the noise came again - a low, thumping noise. Almost like something had brushed gently along the side of the Rhino. She sat up and looked at the two in the back. Curran was already sitting up and staring out of one of the slats beside him. When he saw Skye move, he turned to her and held his hand up, warning her to be silent. Something was outside.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Skye turned her head and looked warily out of the window slats beside her. As her eyes focused on the darkness outside, she was able to make out a shadowy form a few feet away from the Rhino, snuffling around in the grass. As that figure faded, she suddenly became aware of a much closer one sliding slowly along the slats beside her face. As it brushed further along, she found its large eye staring at her through the opening. Skye held her breath, unable to move away for fear of alerting it. It appeared to be studying her closely. After a few seconds, it also froze and its eye widened. They stared at each other. The tense silence was broken almost immediately by an ear-piercing screech and a loud bang. Skye waited for the impact, but it never came. The slashers were attacking the other Rhino.

Malcolm braced himself against the side of the vehicle as it began to shake from the blows. He held up a warning finger to Jim and Lucas, who had stabilised themselves in similar positions. They had to be quiet. If they were quiet, the slashers would get bored and leave .. probably. The Rhino stopped resounding for a moment as the dinosaur slinked back around the other side. Jim and Lucas saw it approach the slats in between them and try to look in. It was so close, they could smell it. The slasher twisted its head a little to get a better view and looked around the inside of the Rhino. Its bright eye centred on Malcolm against the opposite wall. He stared back at it, trying to remain as still as possible, but it stared at him for such a long time, his eyes began to water. Lucas and Jim watched him anxiously. He had to blink. He HAD to! So he blinked. And the second he did, the slasher shrieked in delight and gave the vehicle a strong whack, denting it badly. Silence fell for another couple of seconds, and then an unsettling scratching began beside Malcolm's left ear. He turned slowly to see several long, finger-like claws curling through the slats. Jim and Lucas stared in horror as the nasty talons crept sideways along the slat towards Malcolm's face. He wouldn't be able to hold his position for much longer. The slasher had the front of its face pressed up against the side of the Rhino. Through one of the slats, they could see the sharp teeth dully reflecting the moonlight. Just as the closest claw gently brushed Malcolm's ear, a series of shrill barks came from the top of the other Rhino, where the lead slasher had taken up position. To Malcolm's extreme relief, the claws retracted, and the curious slasher regretfully disappeared. All three team members released a silent sigh of relief. They were retreating.

Back in the other Rhino, Guzman had finally woken up thanks to the racket, but they had been left in peace for a little while. Everyone was extremely anxious as to what was happening to the occupants of the other Rhino, but for now they were fairly safe. The slashers had, for some reason, decided the other vehicle was a more interesting target. Now the noise had died down altogether. They felt their own Rhino shake once more as the slasher leaped away, and then .. silence. They were gone. But why .. ?

A few moments later, they heard a deep rustling coming from the surrounding forest. It was gradually growing louder and louder, like a waterfall travelling along the jungle floor towards them. Guzman looked out the slats to investigate, but saw nothing unusual. He turned back to his younger team members to try to reassure them. Skye and Curran both looked distinctly uneasy. He leaned forward and spoke softly.

"Probably just the wind. Let's get back to sleep."

Skye nodded slowly, but Curran still didn't appear convinced in the slightest. The next moment would confirm his suspicions. As the rustling died away, the tree line shook with a deafening roar. Each member of the small group scrambled to peer through the slats as a large Spinosaur emerged from the jungle.

Curran muttered something under his breath that doesn't warrant repeating here. Guzman ordered everyone to remain still. For the second time in that horrible night, everyone froze. The massive dinosaur raised its elongated head up to the moon and looked around gracefully. In the soft light, it didn't look like a killing machine. Even in their terror, they were somewhat awestruck by the sight of it. The Spinosaur blinked slowly and sniffed the air, turning its head to look down at the Rhinos curiously. Despite its massive size, several members of the group recognised it as a young animal. It blinked again and crept closer, nudging the Rhino gently with its large face. Skye, Curran, and Guzman held on once more as the vehicle swayed. The dinosaur sniffed it again and made a strange gurgling sound deep in its throat. Then it opened its huge mouth wide and bit the Rhino. The three occupants of the other Rhino gasped in horror as the vehicle was lifted high into the air and thrown several metres away, rolling and rolling, and mercifully - whether by happy accident or design - landing on its wheels again. Guzman rubbed his bleeding head and grasped at his handheld radio as the Spinosaur raced after the Rhino in delight. Just as he opened his mouth to speak into it, Jim's voice came from the other end.

"Guzman! Skye, is everyone alright?! If you can hear me, start the Rhino. We're moving out. NOW."

Guzman hurriedly managed a short reply as the Rhino was shoved again, tilting and only just avoiding flipping over.

"Roger!" He turned to Skye, who was still in the front. "Skye, start the Rhino. You'll have to drive. Follow Jim!"

The other Rhino started on cue, temporarily drawing the young Spinosaur's attention. Skye attempted to turn the engine over unsuccessfully.

"It won't start! Come on, come on .."

She tried a few more times. Nothing. Guzman practically yelled into his radio.

"It won't start! It must've been damaged by the fall."

"You'll have to make a run for it then! Forget about the supplies. We'll open the back for you. Go!"

As the doors of the damaged Rhino were forced open, the dinosaur paused to stare from one vehicle to the other. Two toys, and they were both moving. It stood and watched as the three small people in front of it fled from one place of safety to the other, only trying to snap half-heartedly at Curran on the way past. The back door of the working Rhino was thrown open as Malcolm and Lucas made way for the others. Malcolm leaped into the front at the same time Curran pulled the back door shut. As the Rhino began to move again, the Spinosaur finally appeared to realise what was going on. His food was running away. As the Rhino revved its engine and sped off through the trees, the dinosaur roared loudly and gave chase. When the Rhino burst through the tree line and out into the open, the Spinosaur was right behind it.

"Go, GO!" Malcolm smacked the dash in excitement as Jim swerved to avoid the giant mouth that snapped down on the air they had been driving through half a second ago.

Skye winced as her bruised elbow smacked the side of the Rhino. Lucas glanced at her.

"You okay?"

As Skye looked at him and prepared to answer, Curran rolled his eyes.

"We were just thrown onto the ground from 2 storeys high. Does it look like we're okay?!"

Lucas looked up at him and gripped the seat tighter as Jim swerved again.

"Now that you mention it, no. You, in particular, look awful." He smiled faintly as Curran scowled. "Having said that, it's almost an improvement."

"Quiet, please! Trying to concentrate!" Jim hit an invisible rock at that moment, causing Malcolm to gracefully leap into the air and whack his head on the roof of the Rhino. Several of the people in the back grimaced and Jim glanced at him apologetically.

"Sorry, Malcolmus."

Malcolm rubbed his head and blinked his watery eyes rapidly.

"Perfectly alright. You just keep driving."

Jim grinned at him for a moment before having to dodge another chomp.

"He's just playing with us at this point. We can't lose him out here." He glanced over his shoulder. "Hold on, everyone. We're going bush."

The vehicle swerved once again as Jim made a sharp left turn straight into the trees. The Spinosaur charged through the forest after them. Skye had to clench her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering as they wobbled at breakneck speed over the uneven forest floor. She glanced up at Guzman, who was leaning against the side of the Rhino, looking increasingly unwell. The blood from his head wound still hadn't clotted and the rivulets streaming down his face had started dripping onto his clothes. She attempted to say something comforting to him, but the second she unclenched her jaw, her teeth began rattling alarmingly again. Thankfully, by now, the Spinosaur was beginning to flag. It had fallen behind a little and looked as though it was reconsidering its life choices. As Jim swerved again to miss an unfortunate Nykoraptor that was standing between two trees, the Spinosaur decided they weren't worth the effort after all and disappeared into the forest behind them. Jim breathed an enormous - if rather shaky - sigh of relief and slowed down a little. Upon the next day's examination, they would realise that the bottom of the Rhino had been badly beaten up by the rough jungle floor, but it faithfully continued to chug along, carrying its exhausted passengers out into the open again. When they emerged from the trees, there was no longer any sign of the Spinosaur. Jim carried on for a few minutes before pulling the Rhino over beside a large boulder. The irregularly-shaped rock painted an odd picture in the moonlight, but one they would be very familiar with by the end of their adventure. These boulders grew increasingly more common the closer one got to the Badlands. This was the first sign that they were drawing closer to their destination. Whether that would have encouraged or discouraged them at that point in time is difficult to say. Had Lucas noticed it, he never mentioned the fact.

Malcolm turned from the front seat, still holding his aching head.

"Alright, who's still alive?"

A few hands went up wearily, but Curran frowned at him.

"I thought you said those siren devices were supposed to keep the dinosaurs away."

Malcolm opened his mouth to answer miserably, but Jim took over.

"They were supposed to discourage them. There were no guarantees they'd rid the area of everything."

Malcolm nodded to Jim thankfully as Skye leaned toward Guzman and spoke up.

"You're not looking so good. Can I take a look at your head?"

The older soldier nodded slowly and Skye began to move towards him, but Malcolm interrupted.

"Better let me. Looks like a nasty abrasion."

"What about your own head?"

Malcolm dropped his hand and climbed into the back.

"I'll be fine."

"Malcolm .." Jim watched him go past with a frown, but Malcolm ignored him.

"Now .." He pulled out a small light and began to tend to Guzman's head. ".. are you dizzy?"

Guzman released a weak laugh.

"After that ride?! Show me someone that isn't dizzy!" He glanced at Jim respectfully. "Nice driving, by the way. If it weren't for you, we'd all be a lot worse off than minor head wounds."

Jim nodded.

"Skye, Curran, how are you two?"

With a glance at each other, Curran and Skye both replied in much the same fashion. They were bruised, but not broken. They just needed some sleep. Jim grinned apologetically.

"Not sure how much sleep we're gonna get tonight, I'm afraid. Small space for six people."

"We'll manage somehow." Skye smiled at the Commander as Lucas yawned and laid his head back against the Rhino. Curran shifted uncomfortably.

"What time is it?"

Lucas glanced out through one of the slats.

"'Bout 2:00 am by the looks."

Curran stared at him in mild annoyance.

"How do you know that?"

Lucas stared solemnly at him.

"I checked."

"You can tell time by the sky?" Curran's reluctant admiration disappeared a moment later as Lucas pulled out a blue rectangle.

"I checked your tag."

Curran snatched his tag back in annoyance as Lucas released it with a laugh.

"You should keep a closer eye on your things, Curran. But if you must know, I can tell the time by the sky as well."

"Of course you can. How did you even get it?!" Curran stuffed his tag deep into his pocket where Lucas couldn't reach it.

A muffled cry from Guzman halted the conversation in its tracks as Malcolm winced apologetically.

"Sorry. Not much light. Here, Skye, hold this." They rearranged themselves, this time with Skye holding the light, and Malcolm finished up the soldier's stitches.

"There." He finally sat back, nodding in appreciation of his own work. "That should heal nicely."

Guzman sighed wearily.

"Thanks."

"Alright." Jim took charge again. "Guzman, Skye, you two take the front seats. Everybody else bunk down as best you can. There's only a few more hours of night time. Let's try and get some rest while we can."

After an uncomfortable reshuffling, everyone was settled and quiet, but unfortunately, not much sleep was to be had for the rest of the night. Guzman had a habit of snoring loudly and Malcolm, as it turns out, was a kicker. The darkness passed in a lengthy state of half-sleep and everyone "woke up" the next morning grumpy and exhausted.

They passed the oncoming day in much the same fashion as the one before, with a few notable differences. Approaching the enemy camp now, they were much more careful to keep to the trees and under cover. This made the journey noticeably more bumpy, and as exhausted as many members of the team were - not to mention how crammed and stuffy the Rhino had become - several stops had to be made for select poor souls to release their stomach contents. After the last stop, which was particularly unpleasant to overhear, Curran shakily re-entered the cabin only for Malcolm to have to get out again, looking rather green. By the end of the day, more mercy stops had been made than there were people in the Rhino. Lucas was getting very snappy with anyone that happened to lean on him slightly during a rough patch, and he ended up being instructed to go to sleep in the corner, which he accomplished surprisingly effectively.

Throughout the day, the trees became more and more scarce as they gave way to plains and boulders. By the time the light faded, there was very little visible vegetation. They reached a small patch of jungle at the head of a large bare valley just as darkness set in and it was decided that this was the spot to make camp. Come morning, they would abandon the Rhino and go ahead on foot. This news was a secret relief to almost everyone. Not one of them could bear the thought of piling back into the vehicle for another long day. Though the patch of jungle was small - only a klick or so across - it was fairly thick. The Rhino was hidden satisfactorily and the general consensus was that they would sleep in the trees that night. There were some decent-sized branches to spread out on, and the idea of being on the ground in the stuffy vehicle was more than any of them could bear. They scrambled up into a particularly well-proportioned tree and settled down. The tree branches, though a little hard, were thick and sturdy, and certainly much more comfortable than the Rhino. In a surprisingly short amount of time, they were all asleep.

The sound of voices woke Lucas at some point during the night. He looked around at his fellow tree-huggers in surprise. They had been under strict instructions not to make a sound that night, because the Sixers or Hooper's men could be anywhere. Guzman had already been gently woken twice for snoring too loudly. As he watched the sleeping bodies, Skye sat up sleepily on her perch near the trunk of the tree. She glanced at him as the voices became clearer.

"Are you sure he didn't see you? Seems to be eyes everywhere lately."

"No, we're in the clear. Rooney covered for us."

"Good. Keep it that way. Not long to go now."

Lucas crept silently along the branch toward Skye. When he reached her, he muttered almost inaudibly.

"Carter."

Skye nodded slowly.

"Wonder what they're up to."

"Let's go take a look." Curran's voice came from the other side of the tree trunk and his face peered around the edge of it.

Skye frowned as the torchlight began to move away, but Curran had already started dismounting the tree as fast as he could.

"Come on."

As she began to follow Curran, she heard Lucas mutter after her.

"Guess I'll stay here then."

She turned and tossed him an apologetic look before quietly dropping out of the tree. As they crept closer to the light source from a few moments ago, Curran put a hand on her shoulder to halt her. The voices had faded out, but now they were returning. The two spies could just see the small clearing through the gap in the foliage. It seemed to be filled with all descriptions of boxes and things. A few moments later, Carter came into view holding a torch. He was followed by another Sixer that Skye only knew by sight. Carter lifted the lid of one of the boxes.

"Any luck with the other matter yet?"

"'Fraid not." The other Sixer looked glum. "The fat old turtle's still got it locked up in his safe. Can't get to it."

Carter frowned.

"It's not good enough. We need it."

A slight change in the wind made Carter look up abruptly and glance around, staring hard at the trees.

".. what?" The other Sixer looked around uneasily, following Carter's gaze.

"Thought I heard something." Carter stood very still for a few moments before turning to his partner. "Better get out of here. Wouldn't want to blow it when we're so close."

The two of them extinguished their torches and made a hurried exit from the clearing. Skye and Curran were left in the darkness with their hearts beating out of their chests. They didn't think they'd made a sound, but evidently Carter had a sixth sense about these things. As quietly as they could, Curran and Skye turned and crept back to their tree.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

Lucas was still sitting on his branch, waiting impatiently for Skye and Curran to return. Not being able to go with them had been agonising, but of course he couldn't risk setting his cuffs beeping. Lucas stared down at his wrists. The two rings of silver encircling them were glowing softly in the darkness. He turned his hands over slowly. The metal shone like a polished jewel as it reflected the moonlight. Lucas sighed and buried his hands into the pockets of his jacket, hiding the cuffs from his view. He was no better than a chained up dog. He hated them. His train of thought shifted then as a rustle came from below him. The two spies had come back and were making their way back into the tree. With a last effort, Skye heaved herself up and leaned back against her part of the trunk again, slowly releasing the breath she'd been holding in. Lucas leaned forward impatiently.

"Well?"

With a glance at Curran, Skye explained what they'd seen in an even quieter voice than usual. Lucas somehow managed to catch most of it.

"So they're preparing something." He muttered. "Without Hooper's knowledge. Not surprising really. I didn't expect that relationship to last long."

Skye nodded her agreement, but said nothing. As Jim stirred, he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Better get back to sleep before someone hears us. Not much to see now anyway."

Skye nodded again and leaned back, watching Lucas crawl back out onto his branch again. She wondered momentarily how he didn't lose his grip and plummet into the shrubbery below. He seemed to have the balance of a cat. She heard Curran settle down beside her and glanced at Jim again. He'd have to be told tomorrow, she supposed, but he certainly wouldn't be happy about their means of gathering the information. Sunrise the next morning would prove her assumptions correct.

* * *

"You did what?!" Jim growled sharply at Skye. She felt herself shrink under his scathing glare.

"We went to see where the voices were coming from."

"Please, it was my idea-"

"I'll get to you later." Jim turned on Curran pointedly, and the young soldier stepped back to where he'd been standing a moment ago. Jim shook his head at Skye.

"Really, just when I thought I could trust you." At the hurt look on her face, he calmed down a little. "Well, you might as well tell me now. What did you see?"

Skye began her tale, in a little shakier voice than normal, and Curran chimed in every now and then. By the end, Jim was rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.

"So they're planning their own revolt. Interesting." He turned to Skye and Curran. "I'm still not happy about what you did, but right now, we have bigger issues. Guzman, take the radio, but only use it if it's absolutely necessary. Any little noise could give us away now. We'll split up into two groups. Skye and Curran, go with Guzman. Lucas, come with me and Malcolm, but for everybody's sake, stay close."

Lucas responded to this with a long-suffering nod as Jim continued.

"We're technically in the Badlands now, so don't go wandering out into the open if you can help it. Mira's camp could be around any corner. Remember, reconnaissance only. Do not engage, under any circumstances. Meet back here at midday. And for goodness sakes, if you see any blue flashes of light, stay away from them!"

A few people grinned then, and even Jim allowed himself a small smile. The Commander looked around at the nods of his soldiers and nodded firmly once himself.

"Good luck. Over and out."

* * *

Jim, Malcolm, and Lucas quickly lost sight of the other team as they made their way to the edge of the trees overlooking the valley. They crept as silently as possible, with Lucas making extra sure of his silence by sticking close on Malcolm's left. Every time Jim turned around, he seemed closer to Malcolm than the time before. Jim laughed to himself, but said nothing. As they reached the tree line, they peered out cautiously. There were several huge clusters of boulders obscuring their view from every angle, but even so, they could hear some unusual noises coming from below. After an apprehensive glance around the area, Jim gave the signal to move forward. They crept up behind a particularly sheltered collection of rock and peered through a split where two boulders met. From their vantage point, they could see directly into the valley.

A few metres from where they were hiding, the rocky landscape dipped and fell like a sandy waterfall into a large basin. In the direct centre of the basin, partially sheltered from the frequent dust storms by still more large boulders, several large weather-beaten tents were set up. Surrounding the camp on the opposite side was a combination of rocky cliffs and sand dunes, which stretched out as far back as any of their eyes could see. On the horizon, however, was a continuous light show of flickering flashes, flaring up, sparking, disappearing, but never gone for long before they reappeared, equally as energetic as the last time. The light show seemed to stretch around most of the rim of the basin, occasionally sending a flash darting across the sky above it, but never striking below it. Malcolm found himself wondering whether they had set up camp in the valley to begin with, or if there had been some sort of painful trial and error process at the start. Either way, they seemed to have chosen the safest spot for miles around. With the constant flickering and flashing, no creatures would likely threaten them. It was true, the basin would be hard to defend, should an attack come, but they felt they weren't in any immediate danger. Truth be told, Mira was the only one who actively considered these things, and she wasn't planning to stick around long enough to worry about it. It was hot in the valley, though, and dry. Water was scarce, and food was hard to come by unless you travelled a fair way to find it. How had they lasted as long as they had?!

As they watched, Mira and Hooper came out of one of the main tents. The onlookers couldn't hear what they were saying from the distance, but the conversation seemed somewhat heated.

* * *

"I'm just saying, are they coming, or aren't they?!" Hooper swiped at an invisible bug that was apparently plaguing him. Mira watched him with an expression of senseless boredom.

"My source is never wrong. If she said they'd be here, they'll be here."

"Yeah, unless they got eaten!" Hooper grinned maliciously at the prospect. "Or drove into the lake or fell off a cliff .."

Mira raised her eyes to the cliffs and shook her head sedately.

"There are some things only you would do."

Hooper huffed.

"Yeah, right."

He followed her unwavering gaze and narrowed his eyes.

"What are you staring at now?"

"Nothing that would concern you." Mira glanced at him for a moment before turning away from the object of her apparent interest. "I'm going to check on Everett. He looked terrible yesterday."

"Bah, Everett." Hooper watched his own spit fly through the air. "You baby them."

Mira studied him coolly.

"It's not babying. It's compassion. Compassion inspires loyalty. What inspires loyalty in your men?"

Hooper smiled up at her confidently.

"Respect. If they don't obey orders, they don't eat. Nyaha!" He laughed abruptly and turned away. "But sure, go spoon feed your little darlings. I'm sure they'll thank you for it when they're all growed up."

As Hooper walked away, Mira smiled to herself. As of late, more of his men had come to her begging for food. When the tables finally turned, he was in for a surprise.

* * *

When Jim, Malcolm, and Lucas returned to the tree, the other team was already there.

"What did you see?" Curran burst out as they approached. Jim shushed him gently.

"You first."

Guzman patted the discoloured bandage wrapped around his forehead before replying.

"Mira's got a few tents down there. Considering the circumstances, they still have a lot more men than I thought they would. We had to hide for a little while to avoid a small hunting party that we almost stumbled upon. If we're not careful, we'll be cornered before the day's out."

Jim nodded.

"We saw much the same thing. But they're definitely preparing for something, and Mira and Hooper are getting on just about as well as they ever did. We'll stick around and keep an eye on them. I want to see what they're up to. Guzman, take Curran and travel back a few klicks to report to base camp. Reilly'll pick up your signal. Sorry." Jim smiled apologetically. "Can't risk them hearing the Rhino engine, so you'll have to go on foot. Skye, you stay here with me. No use all three of you going."

Skye nodded, but Guzman took a step forward with an anxious expression.

"I really think we should be getting back. It's too much of a risk to stay here, so close to the enemy camp."

Though Guzman had been speaking to Jim, Lucas spoke up in reply.

"I know it's not my place, but if you'll permit me to speak .." Lucas hesitated, but at a nod from Jim, he continued. "It is dangerous, but it'd be more dangerous to just leave without knowing what they're up to. We've been careful so far, and we've been fine. If we keep a lookout, I think we'll continue to be alright for a while. We can't leave yet."

Guzman glanced pleadingly at Jim, but the Commander was nodding.

"I agree." He patted Guzman's shoulder. "It's not for much longer. Are you feeling okay? I can send Malcolm with Curran if you like."

Guzman shook his head.

"No, sir. I'm fine." He sighed and raised his eyebrows at Curran. "Guess it's you and me. Let's move out."

Jim watched them go with a distressed frown, but Malcolm put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. He's just tired .. same as the rest of us."

Jim shot an appreciative smile at his friend.

"I hope you're right."

Malcolm feigned surprised confusion.

"What? Don't you know me at all? I'm always right!"

Jim grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Of course. How could I have forgotten?" He looked around at the other three. With two people gone, the group seemed a whole lot smaller than it had a few minutes ago. Jim mentally shook himself. They were waiting on his next instructions. "Right, I can't be the only one that's starving! How about some lunch?"

After lunch, they returned to their little nook in the rock wall to keep watch. A bit of a breeze had picked up in the last hour and the trees behind them were swaying gently. Though the wind was a welcome relief, it also set everyone a little on edge at first. It had a tendency to rustle the foliage behind them in a way that resembled the movement of something living passing through it. On one such occasion, Skye sat up from where she had been leaning against the boulder as her fingers brushed against her sonic. She had almost lost it the other night as they fled the Rhino. If she hadn't chosen to sleep with it on, it would be back there still, left in one of the corners of the abandoned vehicle. In this situation, of course, it would be madness to use it, but she was somehow comforted by it all the same. She glanced at Malcolm, the furthest from her. He had been thrilled at the excuse to use his bird-watching binoculars (which were practically brand new), and had been lying on his stomach staring through one of the cracks for what seemed like hours. She looked at the sky. How long _had_ it been? If it wasn't for their rule of silence, she would've been tempted to ask Lucas to see if he really could tell the time from the sky. She wouldn't have put it past him to say he could just to annoy Curran.

Curran. At another rustle, she focused back on the trees again. What were Curran and Guzman doing now? Had they made it? Did the colony know that they'd made it and that they were safe? Did her mother know? She shook her head at herself. They were just trees. Nothing there. She turned her attention to Lucas, who was sitting beside her, staring out into the valley like the other two, only he seemed far away. Lucas had been acting vaguely uneasy all morning. Maybe being so close to his former colleagues bothered him. She shrugged mentally. Whatever was going on in Lucas' mind, she wasn't about to figure it out any time soon. With a final glance at Jim, Skye turned around again to look out the crack. The encampment seemed surprisingly quiet. How long were they going to stare at it?

Lucas, now on her left, suddenly sat back and looked around. He stared at the trees for a moment and took a deep breath, turning slowly to Skye, who had leaned back as well and was watching him curiously. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but after a few seconds, he looked away, back at the trees. As she continued to watch him, he tensed again, appearing to hear something. This time, there was no hesitation. He turned to her quickly with a strange expression, somewhere between sick and vaguely guilt-stricken. She wondered in that split second if he was coming down with something. Lucas stared at her solemnly, not bothering to keep his voice down any longer.

"It's gonna be okay. Trust me."

Skye frowned in confusion, but before she had time to question him, a familiar voice spoke from somewhere nearby.

"Nice of you to come join us. Not very often we have guests nowadays."

Jim and Malcolm exchanged a pained glance and sat up slowly as Mira emerged from behind the other side of the boulder.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

"Better late than never, I suppose."

Jim studied her resentfully.

"So you did know we were coming."

"Of course I did."

Mira's gaze came to settle thoughtfully on Lucas, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. Jim's eyes followed hers slowly as a horrible sense of foreboding swept over him. After a second or two, Mira's eyes flicked back to Jim.

"No, it wasn't him."

Jim's only response was a slight nod, but he breathed an internal sigh of relief. Someone in the colony had betrayed them, but it wasn't Lucas. Thank goodness for small mercies. Mira gestured imperially to them.

"Get up. You're coming with us."

"And why would we ever do that?" Malcolm stood up and folded his arms stubbornly. His futile attempt to maintain control of the situation drew a small smile from Mira. She gestured to someone behind her.

"Make sure they come quietly. If any one of them goes for their sonics, toss them off the rim. But don't lose the sonics. We might need them later."

With that, she turned and walked away. Carter appeared around the corner as she left their field of vision. He was followed by several Sixer hunters with various weapons. Leaning on the boulder, he studied them for a moment.

"Watching us, huh? Maybe you guys had more guts than I took you for." With this odd compliment, he nudged Jim with his foot. "Get up. Mira's waiting."

As Lucas stood up, he noticed Carter watching him closely.

"Carter."

"Lucas."

Carter turned to Skye, who was standing on his right and watching them with a strange expression.

"Skye."

"Carter."

"After you."

They all turned around reluctantly and trailed after Mira, pushed on by the ends of bows and spears. After only a few steps, Mira turned and stared at Jim with narrowed eyes. She shook her head.

"Carter, make sure you pick up the-" She stopped as Carter held up Jim's handheld radio and waved it. Turning back to Jim, she sighed.

"Really? This is what you're reduced to?"

He shrugged.

"Had to try."

"Guess so." Mira rolled her eyes and turned away again. "Come on."

As they made their way around the rim and toward the path leading down into the basin, Jim quickened his pace a little and walked beside Mira.

"You feeling okay, Mira? You're not your usual bubbly self today."

The leader of the Sixers glanced sideways at him.

"You try being trapped in a desert wasteland for months and see how you come out."

"Touché."

Several of the soldiers from both sides stopped what they were doing to stare as the prisoners were led into the enemy camp. Mira directed them to the main tent, but just before they entered, Hooper burst out.

"Oh, you're finally back, are you? Why do you always sneak away as soon as my back is turned?! You _knew_ I wanted to talk .. to .." His words died in the air as he took in the sight in front of him. "Well, I'll be .."

Hooper's surprised expression morphed into a triumphant grin as he noticed Lucas among the group.

"Hahaa, not so cocky now, are you, genius?" He didn't appear to notice Lucas' serene smile or hear Mira clear her throat. Instead, he threw aside the tent flap grandly and bowed to his guests.

"Welcome to Paradise."

After tossing an expressive glance in Jim's direction, Mira entered the tent. Prompted by the Sixers behind them, the others followed. Several of Hooper's remaining soldiers were already inside the tent and watched as the parade trailed in. When everyone was inside, Carter stepped back and allowed Hooper's men to take over. Jim's and Malcolm's hands were tightly secured behind their backs. Skye and Lucas appeared to be momentarily overlooked. Perhaps it was because they didn't look particularly dangerous. Perhaps the Phoenix soldiers were curious to see what Skye would do in this situation if she was still armed and untethered. Regardless, Jim and Malcolm were the only ones immediately bound.

Silence fell on the room for a few moments before Hooper spoke, addressing Lucas.

"Well, you came after all." He surveyed the others, sneering haughtily. "And you brought company."

A few glances were thrown in Lucas' direction, but still no one said a word. Finally, Mira sighed, looking increasingly dissatisfied with the situation.

"Lucas, you're free to go as you please."

"What?"

"What?!"

Hooper echoed Malcolm's question a millisecond after he asked it. Mira glared at him.

"You knew this was the plan. Regardless of what you might think, he's still one of us, and I won't have him treated like a prisoner."

Hooper subsided for the moment, looking furious at having been reprimanded in front of everyone. As Lucas stepped forward slowly, the expressions of the other three faded from stubbornly rebellious to disheartened. All the fight seemed to have withered away in them. Jim curled his lip scornfully and shook his head as Lucas took his place beside Mira.

"You were planning this all along. You-"

"Now, now, Shannon. I know we're upset, but let's not lose our heads .. yet."

With a glance at Mira, Hooper sniggered joyfully. Mira found herself wondering what the bruising pattern of a sonic would look like if shot directly down onto someone's head, but she willed herself to stay calm. Hooper's attention had been drawn elsewhere.

Skye was watching Lucas with an expression of vague surprise still etched on her face, but the hurt shone out of her eyes. She flushed a little as he met her gaze. How could she have believed him, even after everything?! She didn't realise how much she'd come to trust him until that moment, but in the exact same moment she also realised how stupid she was for it. She found herself searching for the right word to describe the extent of her idiocy .. she failed to find it. Lucas studied her with an odd expression that was somewhere between sad and heartless.

Hooper was watching this silent exchange with great interest.

"I don't believe it." He stared at Skye and then back at Lucas with an incredulous laugh. "You actually did it."

Lucas pinned him to the floor with an icy glare.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Hooper decided to change the subject. He stared suspiciously at Lucas' cuffs.

"What are those?"

"Oh." Lucas looked at his cuffs absentmindedly. He raised his head and glanced around for a moment before addressing a nearby soldier.

"You got a sonic? Give it to me. And I'll need your security tag, too."

The soldier reluctantly complied. Lucas handed the tag to Hooper.

"Hold that there."

Hooper gingerly held it where Lucas directed, as if he was afraid the young physicist was going to blow his arm off. Instead, Lucas shot the sonic through the hard plexiglass of the tag, which caused it to pinpoint the blast toward his cuffs. One at a time (at the necessary expense of a few singed arm hairs), he neatly sawed them off. Malcolm's dismayed exclamation fell on deaf ears. The soldier was handed back his equipment with an astonished expression as the discarded cuffs dropped to the floor. There they lay, their broken and abandoned pieces continuing to reflect the outside light as their internal glow faded into darkness. Jim gave Malcolm a sympathetic look as they fell. The researcher looked as though he was about to burst into tears.

Hooper laughed and patted Lucas on the back.

"Good to have you back, genius!"

Lucas stared expressionlessly at him.

"Wish I could say it was good to be back."

Mira folded her arms as Hooper raised his eyebrows with an uncertain laugh.

"Fair enough."

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Lucas saw Skye reaching for her gun. He shook his head at her slowly. When she didn't stop, he spoke.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Turning to the soldiers, he gestured at her. "Disarm her and tie her up with the others."

As the soldiers tied Skye's hands behind her back, she stared at Lucas scornfully.

"You never changed. You were always a traitor. I almost believed you! .. should've known."

Lucas stepped forward and looked her in the eye.

"Yes. You should have."

He ran his thumb gently down the side of her unforgiving face before appearing to mentally tear himself away. He nodded to Hooper.

"Take them to the shed."

The "shed" was what they called a large crude structure the Phoenix Group had erected to protect their vehicles from the elements. Vehicles which were, by now, nothing more than a series of statues collecting dust in the same room. The power cells for most of them had died long ago. Some had even died in various parts of the camp and had been abandoned out there.

"And Hooper .." Lucas looked down at the remnants of the broken cuffs. "You touch any of them without my permission and for your last few minutes of existence, you'll wish you hadn't. Understand?"

Hooper turned back to him, trying not to bristle. Evidently, if he didn't show respect to this little punk, Mira would soon end his long career as a human being .. but now he was being threatened by Lucas as well?! There was only so much a man could take! He managed to squeeze out a semi-polite "Whatever you say", sounding strangely akin to an angry butler. Lucas nodded, but just as Hooper turned around for the third time, he spoke up again.

"Wait."

Hooper pursed his lips and met the gaze of the person directly in front of him. Even under the circumstances, Jim had to swallow the urge to laugh. Hooper was only just hanging onto his squashed dignity. He turned to raise his eyebrows at Lucas, but he found he wasn't looking at him. Lucas walked forward and stood in front of Jim, staring straight into his face for a moment. Jim stared back with a small shake of his head.

"You're a disappointment, Lucas. A deserter. Won't be long before they see it, too."

Lucas' eyes moved to the Phoenix guard behind Jim.

"The chain around his neck."

The guard pulled the tags roughly over Jim's head.

"What do you want me to do with them?"

Lucas held his hand out and took the tags gently, before letting the chain uncurl and hang off his fingers. He dangled it in front of Jim's face meaningfully.

"See this? No more electric shocks, no more threats, no more dragging me around like a dog. You're not in control anymore. You will never have control of me again. The sooner you accept that, the better."

He stepped back and stared at the tags in his hand for a moment, slipping them into his pocket.

"Take them away."

As the prisoners were shoved toward the tent door once more, Jim looked over his shoulder at the three that remained inside.

"You know, if I could go back to that mountain that night and choose whether or not to save your life, knowing what I do now, I'd still do the same thing. I hope you realise one day that power and revenge aren't all they're cracked up to be. I really do."

Lucas stared out the tent flap for a minute after they had disappeared, finally turning and wandering around the room thoughtfully. Mira and Hooper watched him in silence. At length, he paused beside Hooper's favourite couch.

"I've barely slept over the last few days, and I'm not feeling so good. Can I sit down?"

Hooper took up the battle immediately. This nuisance had undermined his authority from the second he was brought into the camp, and now he wanted to sit on his own especial couch?! It was too much!

"Ohh no. If you think we're just gonna let you come in and-"

"Sit anywhere you like."

Hooper turned to glare at Mira as she interrupted him. As Lucas fell onto the makeshift couch of boxes and tarps, Hooper leaned close into Mira and grabbed her arm.

"Can we talk for a second?"

Mira allowed herself to be pulled into the corner of the room as Hooper began speaking conspiratorially.

"He just waltzes in here after flat-out rejecting us last time and we're expected to be best friends again?! Just like that?!"

"Yes." Mira glanced at Lucas, who was reclining in the chair and staring at the roof of the tent. "If you ever want to get out of here, that's exactly what you're expected to do."

"Well, fine." Hooper caved surprisingly quickly. "So long as he doesn't ruin what we've got going on here."

Mira narrowed her eyes at the smaller man, pulling her arm warily out of his grasp. She glanced at Lucas again as she digested Hooper's last sentence. Lucas was still staring at the roof in the same position, but she thought she caught a faint smile on his face. As she turned back to the man directly in front of her, Hooper shook his head and turned away.

"Ah, forget it. We'll do it your way."

As Hooper stormed out of the tent, Lucas leaned his head sideways and grinned at Mira.

"I see things have really heated up since I've been gone."

Mira lifted her chin and stared coldly at him for a moment before relaxing and shaking her head. She raised her eyebrows and studied him pensively.

"They treat you alright in there?"

Lucas watched Mira silently for an uncomfortable amount of time before hauling himself off the couch and wandering around the room again. When he finally did reply, he didn't answer the question.

"Cut the act, Mira. We both know the only reason you care about my wellbeing is because I'm your passport out of here. You need me." He blinked tiredly at her. "Sienna .. right?"

Mira became visibly uneasy.

"You want to use me. Fine. I get it. But don't pretend you care." He turned away from her and stared at the bare tent walls. "If there's one thing I hate, it's dishonesty."

"Fine."

"You know, at first I was wondering why you've put up with these Phoenix guys for so long. Then I realised." He looked over his shoulder at her. "Does Hooper know you're just using him too, or is he too stupid to figure it out?"

Mira shuddered in disgust.

"I've had far more of that man than I ever wanted or expected to. The day when we get out of here and leave him in the desert's capable hands cannot come soon enough."

Lucas tilted his head curiously.

"Aren't you afraid he'll suspect something if you talk that way to him?"

"What do you think I should do?! If I started being all sweet to him, don't you think he'd be more suspicious?"

Lucas snorted.

"I certainly would be. I'd send you back to the colony just to get your head checked."

"Well, there you go." Mira shot him a brief smile before settling down to watch him quietly. Finally, he tired of her staring and leaned on the back of the couch facing her.

"What?"

Mira spoke up immediately.

"Look, you and I both know you don't want to be here .."

"Mira-"

"It's alright. I understand, believe me. But the least you could do is _try_ not to look like such a forlorn lamb. I'm having enough trouble keeping Hooper onside as it is."

"Hooper." Lucas sniffed indignantly.

"Yes, Hooper." Mira leaned on the table in front of her and fixed Lucas with a solemn gaze. "I've come this close to pulling this off. I am happy to see you. Whether you believe it or not, I was worried when you disappeared, but you are not about to mess this up. You care for them, fine. You feel horrible for stabbing them in the back, fine. But you better pull yourself together, Lucas, or so help me, I will throw you out of the camp myself."

Lucas' expression had moved through several stages during the course of this lecture. Now he stared at Mira in annoyance. She took a deep breath.

"Work with me, and I'm sure we can bring about an outcome favourable to both of us. Your choice .. but choose fast."

Lucas' irritation faded and he nodded slowly.

"Fine. But if you don't feed me soon, I'm going to waste away before night falls."

Mira smiled and tapped the table as she stood.

"That I can do."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

"I don't BELIEVE this." Malcolm continued to struggle against the rope tying his hands together. "Trapped, in the Sixers camp, betrayed by Lucas, far from home- Why did I ever let you talk me into this?!"

He glared at Jim antagonistically as his nose began to twitch. He attempted to rub it violently on the collar of his shirt.

"And why is my nose so itchy?!"

"Probably allergic to the Sixers." Skye muttered.

After being confined to the shed for several hours, they had well and truly recovered from their shock and were now beginning to get very sick of the large mass of battered tin and tarp they were sitting in. The combination of crude mats and sand under them wasn't particularly comfortable either. Malcolm shifted awkwardly and groaned again.

"My head hurts."

Jim and Skye looked at him in concern. Jim, on his left, frowned.

"Might have a concussion from that whack in the Rhino."

"Oh, very comforting, Jim, _thank_ you." Malcolm shook his head and went back to his previous pursuit. Jim watched him run his nose over his shoulder a few times before snorting in amusement.

"Serve you right if you get a friction burn right on the end of your nose."

Malcolm turned on him irritatedly.

"Serve me right?! Oh, it'd serve me right, would it, Jim? Because I'm the one who got us into this mess in the first place?!"

"Well, you didn't help the situation-"

"Stop it!" Skye leaned her head back in frustration against the tin panel behind her, resulting in a few seconds of silence.

"She's right, we're not helping things." Jim glanced around the shed with a frown. Surely there was something in here they could- Malcolm interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh, of course you agree with her and not me."

Jim rolled his head sideways to glare at Malcolm before returning to his search. Rhinos, couple of Rovers, various boxes. If only he could get to the boxes. Might be something useful in there. He struggled against his restraints. Pointless. They were too tight. Maybe he could yank the stakes up that the rope was tied to. Jim performed several strange hop-jumps without success. Now it was Malcolm's turn to snort.

"Careful. If you continue to impersonate a wild rabbit, they'll come and eat you in a minute. Try a badger."

"Won't budge." Jim ignored Malcolm's helpful suggestion and continued to pull. Malcolm frowned.

"Careful, Jim, you'll hurt yourself. Not the most comfortable position for a pulled muscle."

Jim planted his feet and pulled harder. The rope was cutting the circulation to his hands. They were getting redder by the second.

"Jim, stop!"

Jim finally stopped and slumped back down, defeated.

"It's no use. I don't know how they've sunk these stakes or what they were used for, but there's no getting them up."

"I guess we'll just have to use our brains rather than our muscles then, hm?" Malcolm took up Jim's previous occupation and began to scan the shed for useful items, but before he got very far, the curtain door parted and a Phoenix soldier stepped in. The small glimpse they had caught of outside told them that it was getting dark. They'd be spending the night in the shed. Not an exciting prospect. The soldier threw a small container of berries on the floor in front of each prisoner.

"Dinner. Enjoy."

As he turned away, Skye called after him.

"How are we supposed to eat that?!"

He shrugged over his shoulder with a smirk.

"Figure it out."

As the tent flap settled back into place, they glanced at each other in misery. After a few seconds, Jim spoke up.

"Well, they're feeding us when their own food is scarce. You don't feed people you plan on killing .. so that's good."

".. right." Skye stared suspiciously at her bowl. "And what if they're trying to poison us instead?"

Jim shrugged.

"It's either eat and maybe die or not eat and die. Which option do you prefer?"

Skye nodded glumly as Malcolm put his foot out to try and move his bowl closer to himself.

"Well, I'm starving anyway, so poison or not, dinner is served .." Just after he said this, his foot caught the side of the bowl, causing it to wobble violently. Half of the contents rolled out across the floor. Malcolm gasped.

"My berries!"

"Well, it's too late for them now." Jim muttered in exhaustion. "Try and get the rest."

Malcolm finally succeeded in retrieving his bowl and bent down to lick the remaining berries out awkwardly. Jim and Skye exchanged an uncomfortable glance as he sat back and chewed.

"Can't taste any poison." Malcolm winced. "Sour though."

He looked at Skye and Jim questioningly.

"Well, go on then! I'm not going to be the only one looking like a ninny!"

The other two sighed, but saw no help for it. With Malcolm looking on in vindictive delight, they reluctantly followed suit.

* * *

"So then he gave me two!"

At Hooper's boisterous laugh, Lucas and Mira exchanged another long-suffering look. This was only the first time Lucas had heard this story, and he was already on the verge of losing his mind. He couldn't imagine how Mira was still sitting serenely across the room after just hearing it for a fourth. Hooper stretched his arm out behind Lucas on the back of the small couch they were sharing. Lucas bent forward and leaned on his knees, as far away from Hooper's arm as he could get. Hooper didn't notice.

".. and then they all clapped. Ahh .." Hooper smiled wistfully off into the distance. "It was a good day."

Lucas yawned widely, covering his mouth lazily with the back of his hand. Mira caught the look and immediately acted.

"You've had a long day, what with all your spying and what-not." She smiled to herself as Lucas' plea for help turned into a depressed sigh. "You better go to bed."

The same thought occurred to both of them at the same time, but Hooper was the first to speak.

"Ohh no." He stood and glared around at the other two, already looking highly offended. "I've already given up my couch to him. He is NOT getting my bed as well."

Lucas stood up.

"Ah, don't worry." He slapped Hooper on the back a little harder than necessary. "I wouldn't want your bed. I'll sleep on the floor in the corner."

"Oh, no you won't." Mira corrected him, causing Hooper's recently relieved face to drop again. "You'll bunk with Carter. There's a spare bed there now."

She glared furiously at Hooper for a moment before turning to the tent flap to call for Carter. Hooper glanced at Lucas, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

"I told her it wasn't my idea. She didn't believe me. Stubborn woman."

For once, Lucas had to agree with him. He nodded and replied in a low voice as Carter strolled in.

"Very stubborn."

"Carter, show Lucas where he's sleeping. He can have Reagan's old bunk."

Carter showed no emotion whatsoever at the mention of his former friend's name. Instead, he nodded sharply.

"Okay." Carter nudged Lucas. "This way, crazypants."

With a final smile at Mira, Lucas followed him. When they had left the room, Hooper turned to Mira jealously.

"I still don't think this is such a good idea."

Mira didn't answer, instead giving him a tired stare.

"I'm going to bed."

* * *

Lucas stared up at the sky above as Carter led him across the camp. The sky throughout the new world was always incredible, but the night sky above the Badlands was especially unique. The colourful stars sparkled in long groups above him, as if they had been painted across the dark blue canvas by a giant brush. The sparse clouds were moving quickly as the wind blew them and the moon was large and bright, peering over the rim and into the valley. All of these features combined to paint a picture that would have been impressive enough, but to add to the scene, every now and then, a bright blue flash would flicker out across the sky and vanish like smoke the way it had appeared. If Lucas had had his way, he would've dragged his sleeping arrangements out into the open and slept under the magnificent view. As it was, Carter was waiting for him at the door of the large tent the Sixers were forced to use out here. The Phoenix soldiers had a similar tent on the opposite side of the camp. Mira thought it best that they remain as far apart as possible. With a last glance at the sky and then at the dark shadows playing on the creamy sand outside, Lucas ducked into the tent after Carter. The inside of the tent was much the same as the outside - dirty and ragged. Bunks were scattered throughout and bags (along with various other nondescript items) were strewn around the place. Lucas had to step carefully to avoid falling into something he might've deeply regretted later. Approximately half of the bunks were occupied. Most of the Sixers present were currently sleeping, but a few were in the process of braiding bits of leather or other simple crafts. Carter led Lucas to the far end of the tent, where two bunks were set up opposite each other. He sat down on one and gestured to the other.

"That's yours."

Lucas sat down gingerly. The bunk was springier than it looked. There were a few animal skin rugs lying around, but no one appeared to be using them. The Badlands weren't what you'd call cool. Carter collapsed onto his own bunk. Lucas looked up to see him staring over questioningly.

"What, you get used to living in the lap of luxury back there? Lie down. It won't buck you off." As Lucas lay down wearily, Carter added, "Might bite a bit though."

"Very funny."

Before long, the lanterns were extinguished and all fell silent. The Sixers slept with several of the flaps open to let some air flow through. After sleeping in the open for so long, most found the tent stuffy at the least. At its worst, it was oppressive and claustrophobic. Lucas glanced over at Carter. The Sixer was sleeping peacefully, stretched out over his bunk. The soft snoring of several others could be heard further down. He turned his head and stared out of one of the open flaps. He was at an angle, so he couldn't see much, but the bit of empty wasteland that he could make out suddenly made him feel very lonely indeed. With a small sigh, he began to rub his wrists absentmindedly. They felt too thin. Too light. He mentally reprimanded himself for his sentimentality and folded his arms, hugging himself tightly. He was exhausted. Sleep was in order. Lucas closed his eyes and drifted off.

A few minutes later (or was it hours now? .. he couldn't tell), he opened his eyes again and looked back at the same opening in the tent wall. The direction of the moonlight streaming in had changed slightly, but he still couldn't see much. The wind rippled the tied-back flap gently. Lucas stared at it for a while until his eyes began to grow weary of it. He tried to close them, but it was no use. As tired as he was, his eyes just didn't want to stay shut. After staring at the roof of the tent for a minute or two, he pulled the chain out of his pocket, holding the tags firmly so they didn't rattle against each other. He gently released them and held them up in front of him, twisting the chain slightly so that the ridges and bumps in the tags caught the moonlight. Carter suddenly opened his eyes and looked over at Lucas, watching him for a moment.

"Shannon's tags, right? What are they for?"

Lucas glanced over at him, not appearing to have been surprised at all by Carter's sudden consciousness. He turned back to his tags and flicked one of them so that it spun on the chain.

"That one triggers the injection, and that one .." He smiled in spite of himself as he nudged the other tag. ".. triggers the electric shock."

"Cool."

"Yeah .." Lucas stared at the tags as they glowed faintly in the dark. ".. I guess they are."

Carter sat up a little and leaned on his elbow.

"What happened to you in there? You're .. different."

Lucas frowned at him.

"'Different' how?"

Carter shrugged.

"Well, you know. The fight's gone out of you. Where's the raging wingnut that had a habit of sweeping stuff off tables?" (Some of Carter's language has been censored so as to not shock the gentle folk, but we've kept the general meaning behind his words.)

Lucas flicked the tags again, and they swung away from him a little before coming back.

"I dunno. Why does it matter?"

"You just don't seem very .." Carter searched for the right word. ".. alive."

Lucas snorted softly.

"What am I supposed to do, throw a fit every time someone looks at me the wrong way?"

"Maybe. I dunno, man, you just seem .. depressed. Get angry. Hit something. Yell. You'll feel better!"

"Will I?" Lucas grinned over at him for a moment. "And what am I supposed to be getting angry about?"

"Oh, just inconsequential stuff. Someone takes too long to get out of the way, shove 'em. Someone talks back to you, scream at 'em! .. unless it's Mira. Definitely don't scream at Mira."

"Lose it over anything and everything? Is that what you do?"

"Nah." Carter lay back down. "I don't sweat the small things."

Lucas raised an eyebrow at him in amusement, beginning to wonder if his conversational partner was sleep-talking. Carter mumbled a final statement from his bunk.

"All I know is, you gotta do something. No one respects a pussy cat."

With that, Carter rolled over and began snoring almost immediately. Lucas shook his head with a silent laugh and slipped his tags back into his pocket. Soon, he too was asleep.

* * *

"I can't sleeeeeep." Malcolm banged his head against the tin backing a couple of times before Skye elbowed him.

"Stop it, you'll hurt yourself."

"I'm _soooo_ tired .." Malcolm groaned. "It's impossible to sleep in this position. What are we going to do if we can't sleep? People die without sleep!"

Jim sighed and leaned his own head back. It was so hot. Too hot. Even with the sun down, the shed was stuffy. The still air seemed to sit in their lungs, making them feel like they were inhaling weighted sacks every time they breathed. Sweat trailed down their faces, casting Skye's mind back for a moment to the creek at Snakehead Falls. What she wouldn't give to be there right now. She'd have a drink of the cool, clear liquid and then maybe slide in herself .. the comforting water was rushing over her head .. Skye woke up with a jolt in the middle of Jim's sentence. She'd just about fallen asleep.

".. where they found it."

"Probably out there a little ways. This place seems like it could go on forever." Malcolm groaned again. "Just like this night .."

"What else do you think might be out there?" Jim was obviously attempting to distract Malcolm's mind from the situation. Maybe even his own mind. "More ships? Buildings? Airplanes? .. People?"

"People?!" Malcolm snorted harshly. "I highly doubt anyone that suddenly found themselves here would be able to survive long."

"Taylor did."

"Well, Commander Taylor is .. is Commander Taylor!"

"You know what you're really good at, Malcolmus?"

Malcolm looked at Jim suspiciously.

".. what?"

"Stating the obvious." Jim smiled irritatingly at him. "Now let's get some sleep. Looks like someone's already beaten us to it."

Malcolm turned to look at Skye, whose head had slid down to rest gently on his shoulder. He hadn't even noticed. Looking back at Jim, he scrunched up his face a little, but spoke more softly than he had a minute ago.

"Well, I guess she can stay there .. so long as she doesn't start drooling."

Jim shook his head, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Malcolm."


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44 **

The first thing Jim noticed when he woke up was Malcolm's head on his shoulder. He leaned his own head back slowly, trying not to wake his exhausted baggage. At least when he was asleep, he wasn't complaining. Jim turned his attention to listening. Not much could be heard outside the tent other than the occasional mumble of voices or crunch of shoes on the rocky sand. After sitting for a few minutes, Jim's mind turned to home. He wasn't completely sure of the time, but somewhere around now, his family would be getting ready to have breakfast. Maddy and Elisabeth were usually the first up, and when breakfast was ready, one of them would wake Zoe. Josh usually wandered out of his room halfway through. Jim sighed quietly. The job of waking his daughter usually fell to him. How long would it be before he was able to go home? Today, they had to double their efforts to escape. A couple of harsh voices behind the shed put an end to his thoughts. Sounded like Hooper and another soldier.

"No, no, no, you must've found SOMETHING."

"No, sir, I'm sorry. There's nothing out there."

"Well then, you obviously weren't looking hard enough! Mira found something after only a few days. You've been out there for weeks!"

"Maybe the figurehead was all there was-"

"Rot. I don't believe it. You'll go back out there after breakfast, and you'll try again, and this time, you won't come back until you've got something! Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Jim almost found himself feeling sorry for the defeated voice on the other side of the tent wall. Hooper obviously didn't treat his men with much more decency than he treated his prisoners. As the footsteps died away, Malcolm stirred and sat up, blinking in confusion. After a few seconds, he looked at Jim.

"Was I .. ?" Jim nodded solemnly, and Malcolm cleared his throat, looking awkward. ".. sorry."

"It's alright." Jim shook his head, still speaking softly for Skye's sake. "Malcolm, we have to get out of here today."

"Yes." Malcolm agreed. "I'd very much like to avoid another night in this shed, if at all possible."

As Skye stirred, Jim nodded emphatically.

"You and me both!"

* * *

Over the other side of the camp, Lucas had awakened an hour or so earlier under very different circumstances. Carter had kicked the edge of his bunk, sending his weary body shuddering from the impact.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! You're coming with me today."

When the violent rattling had subsided, Lucas glared up at Carter, who appeared to remember at least some of their strange midnight conversation.

"That's more like it! Show some backbone."

Lucas shot him a warning look.

"You really shouldn't be talking to me like that, you know. I'm your superior."

As Lucas settled back down into his bunk, Carter kicked it again.

"Not anymore, you're not. Not out here. Now get moving, or I'll drag you off."

When Carter made a move to do exactly that, Lucas hurriedly sat up and held out a hand.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming."

"What's that for, you want me to pull you up?" Carter grinned as Lucas immediately retracted his hand.

"No. No thank you."

"Then move it. We're going hunting!"

Lucas looked around the large tent as he stood. They were the only ones left inside. The Sixers evidently still got up early.

"What are we hunting for?"

"Breakfast!"

Lucas sighed in resignation.

"Very well."

"Come on."

Carter led the way out of the tent into the already hot sun. They made their way to a smaller tent near the centre of the camp. Carter entered and held the flap open for Lucas. As he stepped inside, he looked around. Boxes, barrels, and racks lined the walls of the small tent. Lying or leaning on the racks were sonic pistols as well as various types of rifles. Lucas couldn't see any that had been put there recently.

"They're all dead." Carter was saying. "Useless. No way to charge them out here, silly beggars."

He grabbed a handful of arrows from a barrel and shoved them into a ragged quiver, handing it to Lucas.

"Here. You can use a bow, right?"

Lucas slipped the quiver over his shoulder.

"I may have once or twice."

"I hope you're being unnecessarily modest." Carter threw a similar quiver over his own shoulder and fixed Lucas with a warning look. "Because I have no desire to be shot."

"I'll try to miss you then, shall I?"

"Hm." As Carter exited the tent, Lucas followed him with a frown.

"What, are we just gonna throw the arrows?"

"Aha." Carter turned to Lucas over his shoulder. "Be patient and all shall soon be revealed."

As Carter turned around again, Lucas rolled his eyes. It was too early for this. Mira suddenly appeared around the corner of the tent in front of them and Carter stopped abruptly. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Hunting." Carter lifted up his quiver for demonstrative purposes. "We're running low on food again. Those Phoenix guys eat like pigs and we're sick of feeding them."

Mira leaned forward into Carter's face.

"Keep your voice down. It's not for much longer." She nodded in Lucas' direction. "And you're taking him?"

Carter shrugged, looking bored.

"Why not? What else is he gonna do?"

Mira pursed her lips for a moment, but finally relented.

"Alright. But keep an eye on him."

"Want me to find him a dummy, too?"

Mira shot Carter a hard glare and he clammed up. As she stalked past them and into the main tent, Carter looked at Lucas.

"Let's go."

He led him to the edge of the camp where the rim began to slope steeply up. Here he paused. Lucas looked at him.

"How are we going to get up there?"

Carter held up the finger of patience and waited for a second. Then he whistled shrilly and almost immediately, a rope ladder was thrown down from somewhere over the ridge. Carter bowed a little and gestured to the ladder.

"After you."

Lucas stared suspiciously at it. The ladder looked frankly unable to support the weight of an empty pincushion, but with Carter watching him expectantly, he saw no help for it. Taking hold of the rickety rungs, he carefully made his way up, half climbing and half crawling. In a surprisingly short space of time, he reached the top and looked down as Carter scrambled up beside him.

"There now. You thought I'd kill you before we even left the camp?"

As Carter pulled the ladder up and hid it under a half-dead bush, Lucas looked around. Whoever had let the ladder down for them had obviously disappeared. Carter was off again.

"Come on! It's around the other side."

Lucas followed easily as his guide led him around the rim and back into a familiar patch of jungle on the other side. They emerged in a small clearing. It looked innocent enough .. apart from the large stacks of leaf-covered boxes sitting around. Carter raised his eyebrows at Lucas.

"This .. is the secret stash. Well, one of them anyway."

Lucas snorted as he threw the leaves aside and began rummaging through a box.

"And Hooper somehow never discovered this?"

"Nah." Carter threw a piece of something dry and brown at Lucas, who only just caught it with his right elbow. "The Phoenix guys don't leave the camp if they can help it, and when they do, it's always in the other direction."

He watched as Lucas held his catch up and studied it.

"Although we have had a few of them try to follow us. _That_ got fun- What are you doing?!"

Lucas glanced at him.

"What is it?"

"Jerky!" Carter answered impatiently as he covered the boxes up and rummaged under the leaves beside them. "Ovosaur jerky."

"Doesn't look like it."

Carter shrugged.

"Well, we have to make do. Eat it, you'll feel better. Ah!" He pulled out a couple of long packages wrapped in tarp. "Here we go."

Unwrapping them, he handed one bow to Lucas, who was tentatively biting down on his jerky. It was extremely chewy. As Lucas took the bow and pocketed the rest of the jerky, Carter sighed.

"Believe it or not, you'll thank me later. Here, string it and let's get going. We'll have to walk for a while before we find anything. Not much life around here - inside the camp or out of it."

After stringing the bows, they set off, passing under a few massive trees as they went. Lucas found himself thinking that they must have passed very close by to where they'd left the Rhino, though he never saw it. Carter attempted to make conversation as they walked.

"We would've left ages ago, but Mira convinced us to stay for a little while longer. Some of the others need to get home as much as she does, and they thought the Badlands were their best bet. It's just unfortunate that Hooper thinks so too."

He paused to listen for a moment before continuing.

"He might be an idiot - He _is_ an idiot .." Lucas laughed at this. ".. but he's still got a lot of men with him, and Mira doesn't want a fight yet."

Lucas hopped lightly over a fallen tree.

"So where do I come in?"

Carter stared blankly at him.

"You know .. science."

Lucas snorted patronisingly and Carter scowled.

"You're the only one who can get the Portal working again so they can go home."

Lucas shook his head.

"I dunno, Carter. Without Hope Plaza to catch them, it might be impossible."

"But you'll try .. right?" Carter looked at him somewhat anxiously and Lucas nodded.

"Yeah. I'll try."

"Good."

Carter suddenly grabbed his arm and ducked down behind a large fern. Lucas crouched beside him. They had been walking most of the morning and had finally reached a more substantial patch of greenery. Now their journey was paying off. Carter raised his bow and quietly removed an arrow from his quiver, knocking it to the string in the same fluid motion. Lucas imitated his movements so efficiently that Carter was almost impressed. They peered out at the small dinosaur in front of them. It looked rather like a large, hairless chicken. Carter pulled back the arrow and let it fly. The creature didn't make a sound as it fell. Carter left their hiding spot, picked up the animal and retrieved his arrow.

"Good start."

"Nice shot." Lucas appeared beside him as Carter threw his catch into a sack he had brought and hung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks. Next one's yours." Carter smiled deviously at him. Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Are you challenging me?"

"Is it a challenge for you?"

They stared at each other for a moment before Lucas shrugged.

"Alright. We'll see."

"Yes, we will .."

They moved along much more quietly now, hoping for a bigger catch, but their luck appeared to have changed. They saw no sign of anything for hours. Finally, they perched on a large log to gnaw on the rest of their jerky in frustration.

"This truly is awful." Lucas ignored his growling stomach and stuffed the remainder of the jerky in his pocket again. Carter shrugged and finished up his own.

"Then perish."

Lucas glowered at him.

"Careful, or I'll decide not to help you."

Carter scoffed.

"You be careful, or I'll decide to knock you out and lock you up."

Lucas rubbed the back of his sore neck and laughed.

"Right."

After a few moments, he sighed deeply and looked around.

"Carter, if we don't start heading back soon, we won't get back to camp until after dark."

His companion stared at him.

"What, is the genius boy afraid of a little lack of sunlight?"

Lucas jumped off the log and leaned backwards on it.

"'Course not. We just .. should've been back by now."

"Why?" Carter, still perched on top of the log, raised his eyebrows. "Would've thought you'd be glad to get away."

"Oh, I am. It's just .."

"Ah." Carter slowly nodded and watched him carefully. "You miss your pets."

"I just want to make sure Hooper's treating them alright. I can't do that when I'm not there."

"Well, you can go see them as soon as we get back."

"I can't. The looks on their faces .. I .." Lucas trailed off with a frown and looked up at Carter. "You don't care?"

"That you care? .. nah." Carter squinted off into the jungle. "Everyone's got liabilities attached to them. Even Mira's got the kid."

"Everyone except you, I'm guessing." Lucas shook his head with a wry smile as Carter nodded.

"That's right. Carter only looks out for Carter."

"Right. Except Carter would do anything for Mira, including stay with Hooper's men even though it drives him crazy and he wanted to leave ages ago."

Carter's eyes took on a cold look.

"She's the boss."

"So you say."

Carter turned to narrow his eyes at Lucas then, and things may have gone horribly awry if not for the unfortunate Ovosaur that popped out of the bushes in front of them just then, offering itself up as a sacrifice. The hunters near the log fell silent, and they both drew their bows, but the Ovosaur was too quick. It spotted them and fled. The second it turned, both arrows were fired, but both missed. The small dinosaur had gotten away .. or so it thought. Carter leaped off the log and gave chase.

"Come on!"

Lucas ran after him through the jungle. Carter was quick, but Lucas had gotten used to traveling through the wilderness and found he wasn't too rusty from his months in the colony. They followed the dinosaur until they were both panting, but, as luck would have it, a few minutes after they stopped, it reappeared again and they resumed the chase. They lost it several times amongst the trees, but eventually managed to drive it out into the open. The pathetic Ovosaur seemed to be taunting them. It ran a few metres away, paused, ran another few metres, and paused. Carter leaned his bow on the ground and glanced at Lucas.

"Yours, I believe."

It was now a bit further away than he would've liked, but Lucas took aim. The first arrow missed by a hair, but the idiot creature didn't run far before he started pecking at something in the ground. Lucas took aim again, and this time he didn't miss. A second after he flung his second arrow, he turned to Carter with a grin.

"Dinner is served."

* * *

They arrived back in camp just after dark to find Mira pacing restlessly in front of the main tent. When she saw them, she stopped walking and watched them approach with her arms folded. Lucas was lugging the Ovosaur and Carter was carrying both quivers, after unstringing the bows and stashing them back in the clearing. As they reached Mira, Carter frowned.

"Something wrong?"

"It's nothing." Mira nodded to the Ovosaur on Lucas' back. "I see you were successful. You must be starving. Put those away and then come and have something to eat."

They nodded in reply as Mira turned and entered the tent. Carter shouldered the quivers and took the catch from Lucas.

"You better go, I think she's in a hurry."

Lucas frowned at him.

"What about you?"

"I'll put these away and meet you in there. Go on. Go check on your liabilities."

Lucas smiled a little and shook his head as Carter walked off. He watched him go and then headed to the shed. When he reached the guards, he was struck by a sudden horrible feeling of guilt. Jim, Malcolm, and Skye were in this tent, trapped, stiff, angry, and probably hungry - possibly injured! And he put them there. Well, he reasoned with himself, chances are the same thing would've happened despite his hand in it .. but he would've been with them. He _should_ be in there with them .. but then he would have no way of helping them. He frowned to himself as he dropped his hand from where it rested on the tent flap. Then he looked up and noticed the guards watching him curiously. Lucas paused and turned to one of them.

"The prisoners. Has anyone been to see them today?"

The soldier frowned and shook his head.

"No, sir. Just us when we brought their food."

"And what is their status?"

"Um." The soldier tilted his head in confusion, but answered confidently enough. "Alive and well, sir."

".. good." Lucas found himself feeling oddly dissatisfied with the reply, but nodded anyway. "Good."

The soldier watched him with a strange expression as he turned and headed back toward the main tent.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

When Lucas finally entered the main tent, Carter was already there. Mira looked up at him as he came into the room.

"What took you so long?"

Lucas looked around, ignoring the question.

"Where's the food? I'm starving."

"Turn around."

Lucas turned neatly to see a small plate of food sitting on the table in the centre of the room. He picked up the food and sat on the table, glancing over at Hooper, who had stretched out over the whole couch before he came in. After a few minutes of silent eating, Carter got up and excused himself, leaving the three alone once again. The other two let Lucas finish his meal in peace .. (well, if having two people watching you unrelentingly as you finish your berries and lemongrass stalks counts as 'in peace'). When he was finished, Mira stood up from her place on an overturned box near the couch.

"Lucas, Hooper has something he wants to show you."

Hooper snorted.

"Yeah, I wanted to show you so bad, it was keepin' me awake at night."

"Just go get it."

"Yeah, yeah."

Lucas raised his eyebrows at Mira as Hooper disappeared out the door of the tent. He came back several minutes later with a medium-sized crate, which he deposited roughly onto the table beside Lucas. As it landed with a bang, Mira jumped.

"Careful!"

Hooper waved his hand carelessly and stepped back from the table as Lucas hopped down and came around to stand in front of the crate. Hooper and Mira watched as he removed the covering and unfastened the lid. Lucas' face changed from curiosity to wonder as he saw what was inside the crate. Mira nodded silently to Hooper as Lucas gently lifted the prized possession out and set it down on the table as though it were made of priceless glass.

"You found it."

His voice was little more than a whisper. He ran his fingers gently along the ridges of the iridescent box as it glittered in the lamplight.

Hooper snorted.

"Yeah, what, you thought you hid it that well, genius boy?" When Lucas didn't answer, Hooper muttered to himself. "Don't see what all the fuss is about over a shiny purple loaf of bread."

Lucas regarded Hooper out of the corner of his eye for a moment and smiled to himself. With a touch in just the right place, the Box opened smoothly and projected bright symbols into the air above it. Lucas stared transfixed at the beautiful hologram for a moment before turning to look at Hooper. He was annoyed when Hooper simply shrugged.

"I've seen better."

"Then you're a pretentious troglodyte who knows nothing of science or technology." Lucas muttered under his breath.

"What?" Hooper stared at him suspiciously.

"Nothing."

When Lucas offered no further explanation, Hooper turned to Mira and changed the subject.

"You know that kid Rooney? I saw him again today, talking with one of your men. They were laughing."

Mira tilted her head at him. Rooney, despite the events of last week, still remained in the Phoenix Group's side of the camp.

"So?"

"So. I walked past them and told them to get back to work .. and he completely ignored me and kept talking to whoever your guy was!"

"Well, who was it?"

Hooper shrugged.

"I can't tell them apart, they all look the same to me." As Mira rolled her eyes, he continued. "So I went back and I grabbed his collar and looked him in the eye, and I didn't like what I saw."

Mira sighed, but said nothing.

"Disrespect. That's what I saw. And I have, too, ever since that day .." Hooper glanced at Lucas' back and lowered his voice. ".. the day we broke into Terra Nova. Should've thrown him out of the camp for that. Now the other men will start disrespecting my authority as well."

He folded his arms and stood up as straight as possible.

"I'm telling you, Mira, an example needs to be made. A lesson needs to be taught. I've a good mind to shoot the little good-for-nothing weasel."

"I guess we should be glad there's one thing you've got a good mind for."

Lucas was still studying the Box intently. It was sleek, smooth, and surprisingly cool to the touch. The metallic object didn't appear to have been damaged at all throughout the trip to the Badlands. As he spoke, he glanced up at Mira with a smile, and Hooper looked from one to the other in annoyance.

"Oh, I see. You think this is funny." He went to the tent flap. "Well, if you think this part is funny, you're gonna be laughing hysterically in a minute. WHEELER! BRING ROONEY TO ME. NOW."

He turned back to the other two with a nod.

"Oh yes, this is gonna be real entertaining. Now .. what shall we do with him? Shall we outright shoot him? Torture him? Oh, I know, maybe we can send him out into the wilderness to meet with Weaver's fate!"

Hooper laughed, but Lucas looked up with a frown.

"What happened to Weaver?"

Hooper's surprise quickly turned to delight.

"You didn't - no, of course you wouldn't. Guess I'll have to fill you in then, eh?"

He repeated the story for the other two listeners, only exaggerating it slightly from the original report.

"And so, young Weaver's last act of bravery was to become a carno's lunch. No medals there."

Lucas was shaking his head in disbelief.

"They really sent a carnotaur through the Portal?"

"Careful, genius." Hooper narrowed his eyes at Lucas. "You almost look impressed."

Lucas snorted scornfully.

"Come on, we both know if you did it, you'd be impressed with yourself."

"'Course I would." Hooper sat on the arm of the couch. "But you don't cheer on your enemy when they score a victory."

He scowled at Lucas' distracted expression.

"And you are on our side .. aren't you, genius?"

Lucas sighed and looked sideways at him.

"Let's not play games. None of us work for the same side anymore."

"Oh, sure we do! It's called side survive-or-die, and Rooney just got kicked off the team." Hooper's face lit up again as Rooney entered the room. "Right on cue! You should've been a runway model, kid!"

Rooney walked in hesitantly. The entire Phoenix camp knew it was rarely good news to be summoned to the main tent. The two occasions were either promotion or punishment - the former was rare, and always followed an instance of the latter. Seeing as the young soldier hadn't heard of any shootings since the sonics had died, he wasn't particularly hopeful. He glanced at Mira uncertainly as Hooper got up and threw an arm around him.

"Now, I need you for a very important task, do you know what it is?"

Rooney shook his head slowly.

"No, sir."

"Aw." Hooper slouched in feigned disappointment. "Well, we'll just have to educate you then. Stand there."

He positioned Rooney a few feet from where Lucas was standing at the table, dusted the young soldier's shoulders off, and took a step or two back.

"There. I think that'll do quite nicely."

"For .. what, sir?"

"Hmhmm .." Hooper folded his arms and raised his eyebrows at the boy. "I need you to send a very important message for me. Can you do that?"

As Rooney almost slumped visibly with relief, Lucas and Mira exchanged an apprehensive glance.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Very good." Hooper grinned menacingly then and pulled a pistol out of his back pocket. Lucas gripped the table tightly in anger as he recognised it. It was Skye's. Mira shot him a warning look as Hooper walked back up close to Rooney and got in his face.

"Now, what do you think the message says?"

The dark-haired Private swallowed hard and shook his head, trying to keep his voice from shaking as well.

"I don't know, sir."

"What a shame. Well, I'll tell you. There's been some rumours of insubordination _floating_ around the camp recently." Hooper accompanied this statement with a few comical hand gestures. "And I think I know where they started. Do you?"

He glanced at Rooney with raised eyebrows, but Rooney only shook his head again.

"No, sir."

"Oh, I think you do." Hooper's voice grew lower as he stared into the eyes of his young soldier. "I think you started them."

"No, sir!"

"No, sir, no, sir, are those all the words you know, Private?!" With a mocking smile, Hooper waited for Rooney's answer. He hesitated.

"They are not, sir."

Hooper looked slightly disappointed that the soldier hadn't fallen into his trap, but he quickly turned his attention back to the gun in his hands.

"Let's not play games anymore. You know you're a traitor, but more importantly, I know you're a traitor. And traitors get shot."

As Rooney looked to Mira for assistance, Hooper wandered over to the table. Lucas watched him suspiciously as he approached.

"Now, normally, I would love to take care of this myself - especially since the recipient is _you_ .." He glanced back at Rooney for a moment before turning back to Lucas. ".. but I still don't trust you. You're not the same. You've changed."

"You're wrong." Lucas lied, staring defiantly at Hooper, who smiled calmly back.

"I am so glad to hear that. This'll be much easier for you than I thought."

He twisted the dial to turn the sonic up to maximum impact. He then turned the pistol around and handed it to Lucas.

"Take it then." He shook the gun enticingly. "Do it. And don't even think about dialling it down."

Lucas slowly raised his hand and accepted the pistol, turning it over in his hand reflectively.

"Well?" Hooper stepped back and held his hands out to Rooney, who had now gone quite pale. "He's all yours. Might take a few shots - those things aren't meant to be lethal, but it saves us getting our hands dirty. The internal injuries'll finish the job."

"John, come on, don't do this. He's just a kid."

"'John'?" Hooper turned on Mira savagely. "Now I know he means something to you. And if that's the case, he's better off dead."

Lucas approached Rooney gradually and stopped a few feet away to look into his face. The young soldier was shaking now, but he was willing himself to stay calm. Lucas smiled a little. He was a brave kid, he'd give him that much. As Mira fell silent again, he looked down at the sonic in his hands.

"What are you going to do with the body?"

"Maybe I'll put it on display in my room. No, throw it outside the camp with the others, what do you think?"

Hooper was fast losing patience. Lucas found himself thanking his lucky stars that he and Carter hadn't stumbled across a pile of bodies at some point during the day. He focused back on his hands to see that he was shaking almost as much as the young soldier in front of him. The desert, the bodies thrown outside the camp, the merciless dictator .. this was beginning to remind him of Somalia and he wasn't a fan of it. In fact, he was beginning to think he might be sick. He looked up to see Rooney watching him curiously.

"You have 5 seconds, Taylor, or you join him."

Lucas closed his eyes tightly for a moment.

"5."

He opened his eyes and lifted the sonic up to centre on Rooney.

"4."

The young soldier nodded to Lucas and lifted his head up in acceptance of his fate.

"3."

The sound of the sonic charging up filled the room.

"2."

Lucas suddenly dropped the arm holding up the gun.

"If you kill him, it won't be long before you lose your whole army."

"1. Fine, I'll do it myself." Hooper grabbed the pistol and shoved Lucas out of the way, only to come face to face with Mira.

"Get out of the way."

"Lucas is right. You don't have an unlimited supply of soldiers. It's madness to kill them off when you can't replace them."

"Get out of the _WAY!"_

"You kill half and the others desert you. What does that get you in the end?"

Lucas had moved to stand beside Mira, but all of Hooper's attention was now focused on the woman in front of him. He held the gun up to Mira's face threateningly.

"Last chance."

Mira raised her chin and looked down at him haughtily. Lucas couldn't help thinking of an eagle regarding its prey. Hooper didn't flinch as she eyed him with scorn.

"You going to shoot me?"

"I'll shoot you all if I have to."

"And how far will you get, Hooper? You're holding a nonlethal weapon and there are three of us. Give up now and you won't have to explain the bruising to your men tomorrow."

Hooper narrowed his eyes at her.

"Are you threatening me?"

"It seems to be the night for it."

"Bah! Who needs you anyway?! Keep him if you feel that strongly about it."

Hooper suddenly threw the gun furiously across the room and stormed out of the tent, grabbing the Box off the table on the way past. As Lucas went to retrieve the pistol, Mira turned to Rooney and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're a good kid. Get your things and go see Carter. He'll show you where you can sleep from now on."

Rooney nodded, still trembling a little.

"Thank you." He looked at Lucas, who had returned to stand beside Mira and was now polishing the pistol on his pant leg. "Both of you."

Lucas and Mira both nodded in reply.

"Go. Before Hooper comes back."

This got Rooney moving. A few seconds later, only Mira and Lucas were left in the tent. Lucas yawned into his sleeve.

"Well, not that this hasn't been fun, but I think I'll go to bed."

"Not yet."

Lucas looked up in surprise as Mira leaned on the table, watching him closely.

"There's something we need to discuss .."

* * *

Jim looked over at Malcolm for the third time in 5 minutes. As the day had gone by, Malcolm had become increasingly more quiet. His complaining had subsided hours ago, and he was now borderline catatonic, staring out blankly into the empty void in front of him. They had been trying all day to think of a way to escape, but had failed miserably. Jim exchanged another worried glance with Skye.

"Boy, I'm getting hungry. Hope they bring some food soon, right, Malcolm?"

No answer. Skye decided to try.

"My mouth's so dry, I could wet it with a mouthful of sand." She laughed as Jim cringed. "Are you feeling okay, Malcolm?"

Still no answer.

"Alright, this is ridiculous." Jim sat up as straight as he could and yelled.

"Hey! You out there! I need to talk to you!"

One of the guards poked his head in almost immediately.

"What?"

"I need to speak to Mira. I have important information for her."

The guard snorted.

"Yeah right."

"Bring me to Mira." Jim's voice had become more commanding. "She'll want to see me."

The guard hesitated a moment and then rolled his eyes, coming properly into the tent.

"You better not be bluffing, or you'll be strung up the nearest tree."

Jim shook his head as the guard approached and bent down to untie him from the stave.

"No bluffing. No bluffing at all."

As soon as the guard freed his hands, Jim leaped up and kicked him in the face. The guard fell back and yelled angrily for reinforcements as Jim bent to untie Malcolm. Before he succeeded in undoing the knot, however, the first guard ran at him and tackled him to the ground as a second came in. Jim battled the first as Malcolm, cast out of his stupor by all the excitement, frantically attempted to free his hands. As Jim was pinned down by both guards, Malcolm managed to wriggle free and flew at the larger one, rolling him over onto the ground. With one of his obstacles gone, Jim renewed his energies, while Skye watched on helplessly. The fight continued for a minute or two, with both sides getting in some good hits, but before either party could prevail, three more Phoenix soldiers appeared in the tent doorway. The fight was rapidly broken up, and a battered Jim and Malcolm were thrown back down and restrained again, more tightly than before. The original guard ran the back of his hand across his bloody nose, still looking furious.

"If I had my way, you wouldn't be fed for a week, but Dr. Taylor would have me shot. Just know you'll never get another chance like that one, my dears, so you best get used to this shed and stop trying."

With that, he walked out, followed by the laughing faces of the uninjured guards. When they were left alone, Skye looked pityingly at the bloodied faces of her companions.

"I'm guessing you didn't do that before because you knew how it'd end?"

Jim shrugged, but before he could reply, Malcolm burst out.

"Buffoons! Ingrates! This is simply barbaric! YOU CAN'T KEEP US LOCKED UP FOREVER." With no reply, Malcolm slumped back in annoyance.

Jim grinned at him.

"Feel better, Malcolmus?"

Malcolm closed his eyes and groaned.

"My head hurts."


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

The next morning, Lucas entered the main tent to find Mira and Hooper in the midst of another heated discussion.

".. so go get it."

"No. I told you, I don't trust him. There's no way I'm giving him free reign with that thing."

"Then what's the point of having it?! It's not going to help us get out of here if it's LOCKED in your SAFE."

"WHAT IF HE BLOWS US UP WITH IT?!" The conversation was getting louder by the minute. Lucas folded his arms and stood in the corner to listen. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S CAPABLE OF. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S CAPABLE OF!"

"What are we going to do then?! Live here forever?!" As Hooper fell silent, Mira delivered her ultimatum. "It's either let him get us out of here, or we're getting out of here without you. Your choice."

Hooper shrugged helplessly.

"Fine. But just so you know, I'll be watching him like a hawk."

Mira smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

It was at that moment Hooper noticed Lucas and narrowed his eyes.

"How long have you been spying on us?"

"Not long." Lucas walked over to where they were standing. "So what was the cause of this particular domestic dispute?"

Mira's icy glare drew a small smile from him, but he ignored her and glanced at Hooper, who smiled politely back.

"Guess what you'll be doing all day."

"So long as it's not playing guessing games with you, I really don't mind."

"No." Hooper poked Lucas in the chest. "_You_ will be working to get us out of here."

"Oh, will I?"

"Yes, you will."

"And how will I be doing that, with no Portal and no equipment?"

Hooper frowned and glanced at Mira, who sighed.

"You don't need the Portal to rewrite the equations - just the Box. Hooper's going to fetch it now."

Hooper threw his hands up in the air and walked away, shaking his head and muttering to himself. A few minutes later, he returned with the Box and handed it reluctantly over to Lucas.

"Here. Get to work."

Lucas cradled the gleaming device in his arms as he went to the table, placing it gently down upon it. Mira managed to procure a couple of reasonably-sized crates for him to sit on, and with Hooper watching him from the couch, he went to work. Hooper couldn't understand a bean of what Lucas was doing, but he felt the camp was safer with him looking on. They passed much of the day in this fashion, until Mira came to have dinner with them at sunset. She came to stand beside Lucas and looked over his shoulder as he drew holographic circles in the air.

"How's it coming?"

Lucas smiled up at her.

"It's coming."

"Good."

At that moment, a soldier came in with a few plates of food and placed them on the table. This had become the arrangement - the Sixers located the food and the Phoenix soldiers prepared and served it. Once they'd settled into it, it had worked quite seamlessly. Hooper rose as Lucas slid the Box shut.

"Ahh, nothing like a hard day's work."

He walked over and went to pick the Box up off the table, but Lucas put his hand firmly on it. He stared at Hooper coldly.

"I'm not finished."

"You are for today." Hooper pulled it roughly and Lucas relinquished it for fear of breaking it. "You can have it back tomorrow, but I'm keeping it overnight. You need your rest."

Lucas shot him a withering look, but it didn't dampen Hooper's spirits. He was finally in control of something, and he wasn't about to let go of it. He lifted the Box carelessly with one hand, making Lucas cringe.

"Eat your dinner."

With that, Hooper walked haughtily out of the room. He returned from the darkness several minutes later to find Lucas, having finished his dinner, lying on the couch. Hooper smiled graciously, concealing the fuming anger that boiled in his stomach.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable. Good. I'll just take the crate."

He walked past Mira, who was leaning on the table finishing her own food, and over to his intended chair. Just as he sat down, a faint tapping began. Hooper frowned as the tapping grew into a heavy pelting. Mira, closest to the door, went to it and stared out for a moment before turning back to the two in the room in shock.

"It's raining."

"It's not just raining, by the sounds of it. It's bucketing down."

Hooper glanced at Lucas, who stared at his hands for a few seconds before looking up to meet the older man's gaze. As Hooper continued to stare at him, Lucas frowned and shrugged back.

"What?!"

"It hasn't rained here since we first came." Mira explained from the door. "It's .. strange. That's all."

She turned to look back out the tent flap as the water plummeted to the ground. At every spot where the droplets slammed into the earth, they threw up tiny fountains of sand around them. The ground was rapidly becoming wetter, and in places where the sand had been splashing up moments ago, the dark earth was being churned up into thick mud before their eyes. Mira heard Lucas snort behind her.

"You think I somehow created the rain?"

Hooper laughed roughly.

"Whatever you did, weather boy, keep doing it." He swiped Lucas' leg off the couch as he stood up. "GARVEY! PUT OUT THE WATER BUCKETS!"

Lucas glared at Hooper's retreating back as he returned his leg to the arm of the couch.

* * *

".. what are you smiling for?"

Malcolm stared suspiciously at Skye. She had recently returned to the shed after being taken for her nightly trip, but after the guard had left, she'd barely said a word. Now she was sitting there with a strange smile on her face. Malcolm didn't like it. Skye answered his question by raising her hands in front of her. Malcolm's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Wha-"

"He didn't do them up properly." Skye whispered, shaking her damp hair out of her face. The rain hadn't let up outside, and her shoes already had mud splattered on them. The shed might not have been the nicest place, but at least it kept them dry. Skye leaned forward with bright eyes.

"Maybe we can get out of here - use the rain as cover."

"It's certainly worth a shot. Here, get Malcolm first."

As Skye set to work on Malcolm's restraints, a shadow fell over the door of the tent.

"Skye-" Jim hissed, and breathed a sigh of relief as she managed to scramble back into her spot just in time.

Milliseconds later, Lucas parted the tent curtain and walked in, wiping his sleeve across his damp face. The three prisoners stared up in him with loathing as he approached them. Lucas was thoroughly drenched and his boots were caked with soggy mud. As he looked down into their hostile faces, his eyes reflected the same exhaustion as he saw in theirs. He shifted on his feet and spoke to them hesitantly.

"How are you doing?"

"For people tied up and slowly roasting in an airless shed, we could be worse, I guess." Jim shook his head. "Lucas, why would you do it?"

"You would've ended up here either way."

"That's not the point. You sold us out."

Lucas suddenly frowned as he noticed the dried blood on their faces.

"What happened?"

Jim shook his head dismissively.

"It's nothing. Nothing to do with you, anyway."

"If they've been hurting you, I can have them-"

"What? Shot?"

Lucas looked distressed.

"No, I was going to say-"

"It's fine, Lucas. Forget it."

Thus shut down, Lucas turned his attention to Skye, who was staring stonily across the room.

"Skye?"

She replied without even looking at him.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Lucas opened his mouth to say something, but looked as though he couldn't decide what it was he wanted to say. He took a step closer to Skye, causing a worried look to cross Jim's face, though he didn't see it.

"Skye, come on. I'm .. sorry."

"Sorry?"

Skye's voice sounded strangely tight as she looked up to meet his gaze. Cold anger shone out of her eyes. As Lucas prepared to say something else, he suddenly found himself staggering backward as a hard punch met his jaw. He looked up to see Skye standing in front of him with fists clenched tightly. A delighted laugh burst from Malcolm, but Jim remained grave. There was no way THIS could end well. Lucas shook his head to clear it and put his hand up to the side of his face, only to have Skye fly at him again. He grabbed her wrists and held her back as best he could. She stared up at him with contempt.

"Traitor. I hate you."

"Skye .." Jim's voice came from the corner, but Lucas shook his head at him.

"It's alright."

"Oh, it's alright, is it?" Skye tried to pull her arms away, but he held them firmly. "You lead us out here to hand us off to be executed, and _you're_ alright?!"

Lucas leaned forward a little and spoke in a low voice.

"Skye, keep it down. They'll hear you."

Skye stopped fighting for a moment and watched him, raising her chin furiously.

"Well, we wouldn't want them to hear what a monster you really are .." She looked over his shoulder and spoke louder for the benefit of the guards outside the door. ".. _WOULD WE?"_

The guards heard the yells and grinned at each other, but didn't bother intervening. Inside, Lucas shook her gently.

"Stop it. I came to give you something, but I can see you didn't need my help." He let her wrists go tentatively and held a hand out. "Now don't hit me."

He pulled a small knife out of his pocket and tried to hand it to her, but she wouldn't take it. Lucas rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, forcing the knife into it and making sure she held it.

"Hold onto this and go sit back down. When the time comes-"

But before he could finish, Skye had darted forward and was holding the knife firmly against his neck. Lucas sighed in frustration.

"Fine, you've got me. What are you gonna do, run out there amongst all the guards? You'd never make it."

"I should kill you now while I have the chance."

"Skye." Jim struggled against his own restraints in frustration.

Lucas glanced at him and took a step back from Skye's knife, spreading his arms out wide.

"You don't trust me, fine. Do it."

They stared at each other for what seemed like a long time, with Jim and Malcolm looking on. They were at an impasse. The rain had eased up over the course of their conversation, but now it began to hammer down on the roof of the tent again. Skye gripped the knife firmly, but made no move to come at him with it.

Lucas sighed visibly with relief as she finally lowered the weapon and slipped it into her pocket. He ran his hand through his wet hair as he recollected his thoughts.

"Alright, look, we don't have much time. Tomorrow morning, we're getting out of here. At first light, Carter will take out the guards, and I'll come and get you."

Malcolm had remained relatively silent throughout this entire exchange, but now he spoke up in alarm.

"Carter? We're leaving with the Sixers?"

Lucas nodded slowly.

"Mira's happy to let you go."

"In exchange for what?" Jim leaned against the tent wall and watched him tiredly. Now that Skye appeared to be out of immediate danger, he suddenly felt very weary indeed. When Lucas hesitated, Jim sighed and shook his head.

"Lucas, come on. Spit it out."

"She wants to come back to the colony."

Jim didn't look surprised in the least.

"Why?"

"She needs me, and .. I want to go .." He glanced nervously at Skye. Somehow he was unable to force the word 'home' out of his mouth. ".. back."

"You do?" Jim nodded slowly. "Well, that's very interesting, Lucas."

"It's the truth."

"Give me one good reason why we should believe you. You might be planning to murder us in our beds."

Lucas racked his brain for a reason, but came up empty. He finally opened his mouth and replied lamely.

".. I'm not."

"Well, I'm sure you understand what an incredible comfort that is."

When Lucas looked down at his muddy boots, but didn't answer, Jim continued.

"You do realise this means you'd have to go back to wearing your shackles, right? .. once Malcolm's remade them, that is."

"I might add in the option to shock you every 5 minutes just for the fun of it." Malcolm added darkly.

Lucas looked from one to the other, but remained silent.

"Why does she need you?"

Jim had a feeling he already knew the answer, and along with that feeling came the knowledge that he probably wasn't going to like the answer. Before Lucas could reply, however, they heard voices mixing with the sounds of the rain outside. Someone was talking to the guards. Lucas leaped forward and put his hands on Skye's shoulders, pushing her back a little.

"Sit down. Now."

Despite the fact that Skye's immediate response was to fly at Lucas' throat again, she held herself back and sat down. It was lucky for both of them that she did, because half a second later, Hooper walked in. He, just like Lucas, was soaking wet.

"Well." He slapped his soggy shirt, sending droplets of second-hand water flying in every direction. "Having a nice chat with our friends, are we?"

"Making sure you weren't treating them as badly as you treat your own men." Lucas kept his eyes on the colonists and didn't bother looking at Hooper, which, as he knew very well, infuriated him. Hooper smiled politely, however, and opened his mouth to make another snide comment, but Lucas interrupted him before he could speak.

"When was the last time they ate?"

Hooper saw no choice but to answer. He did so in as begrudging a tone as he could.

"They were fed a few hours ago, but didn't eat much. Taking food out of our own mouths. Bah. They're a waste of skin."

"Why didn't they eat?" Lucas continued to watch them like a king would watch his subjects. Hooper shrugged defensively.

"Don't ask me! They're your pets! If I had my way, they'd all be .." As he trailed off, Lucas' eyes came around to stare at him coldly.

"What?"

Hooper was slightly unnerved by the stare, which irritated him even further.

"Bah!" He said again. "Keep 'em if you like. What do I care? But their food is coming out of your share."

With this, he stormed out of the tent into the rain once more. Lucas followed him, turning to offer a last few words before leaving them for the night.

"Get as much sleep as you can. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, he was gone.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

When morning finally broke, no one in the shed had to be woken up. The structure above their heads had begun to leak in several spots through the course of the night, and these leaks seemed to have impeccably devious timing. Every time someone began to fall asleep, a large bulb of water would explode on their nose .. or their cheek .. or the top of their head. The rain hadn't stopped until early morning, and even then it took some time for the drops to let up. Needless to say, despite Lucas' advice, none of the prisoners got much sleep at all. As the first rays of the sun began to shine over the rim of the valley, they heard squelchy footsteps behind them. Moments later, the tent wall moved and Lucas slipped through under it. His knees and shoes were covered in sticky mud already, and he looked as though he'd gotten almost as much sleep as they did. Skye's sonic had been retrieved from where he'd hidden it under his bunk and was now secured in an unknown holster near his ribs. He squatted on the ground beside them.

"What do you say we get out of here?"

"Sounds good to me." Skye cast the hated ropes aside, and Jim and Malcolm did the same. Evidently Skye had cut their restraints at some point during the night.

"Alright, here's the plan. Once Carter takes out the guards, the Sixers will head for the treeline - they were almost ready when I left. They were just sending a few groups out to raid the supply tents for a last time. You two - Malcolm and Skye - will go with them. Shannon, you're coming with me. Mira's orders."

Jim frowned.

"Why should I go with you? Where are you going?"

"Mira and I are going to get a device I need out of Hooper's safe while you watch the door. Then, Mira will follow the others out of camp while you and I-"

"Won't Mira be stopped?"

"A lot of the Phoenix guys owe her. She'll be fine, but she needs to be with the others to lead them out. That's where you come in."

"Why me?"

"She trusts you. You'll stay with me in Hooper's tent until I finish programming the fractures, and then we'll head out as well. Don't worry, I took care of most of that yesterday. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

Malcolm suddenly spoke up.

"But won't you be shot?"

Lucas turned to him.

"Most of the weapons are dead, remember? We've just got to avoid the soldiers and make a run for it."

"And why can't one of the other Sixers go with you instead of Jim?" Skye was watching Lucas with an increasingly worried expression. He turned to her and shrugged.

"Mira didn't want one of the others. She wanted him."

"At this stage, I think we'll have the best chance if we stick to the plan." Jim paused as a smothered yell and a couple of loud thumps were heard outside the tent.

"Carter." Lucas muttered. "Right on schedule. Get ready."

Skye shook her head.

"Is Mira sure about this? It doesn't seem like such-"

"Hey." Lucas put a hand on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."

She looked at him.

"Remember what happened last time you told me that?"

Lucas didn't seem daunted in the least.

"Yeah. And now we're getting out of here." He turned as Carter poked his head through the tent flap and gestured to them. "It's time. Go."

Skye turned to Jim in distress.

"But-"

"Skye, it's alright. I'll see you soon. Go with Malcolm."

As Skye opened her mouth to reply, Lucas nodded.

"He's right. Go. Go!"

As Malcolm and Skye made their way quickly over to Carter, Lucas smiled.

"See you on the other side." He turned and lifted the tent up at the same spot he'd come in by a few minutes ago. "After you."

* * *

They met Mira just outside the main tent.

"Hooper's is over there." She nodded to a medium-sized tent on their left as she handed Jim a sonic pistol. "Yours, I believe. I've been watching for a while. He came out and hasn't gone back in. Probably gone for his perimeter check. Let's go."

Jim and Lucas readied their weapons and followed her quietly. Not many of the Phoenix soldiers were up yet, but it didn't hurt to be careful. As they slipped inside Hooper's tent, Mira turned commandingly to Jim.

"Tent's got two rooms, two entrances. Shannon, you watch this one. Lucas, come with me and guard the other one while I get the safe."

Jim nodded and took up his position while Lucas and Mira entered the next room. As Lucas stood beside Hooper's back door and stared out through a slit in the tarp, Mira went to the safe. It was an old-fashioned one that required a physical key to unlock it. After spending several minutes trying to open it using various methods from lock-picking to brute force, she finally slammed the safe door with the palm of her hand.

"It won't budge. I can't get it open!"

"Incoming."

Lucas stepped back into the shadows beside the tent flap as Hooper came barging in. He stopped in shock when he saw Mira.

"What in oblivion do you think you're-"

"Hooper?!"

Mira turned around in surprise. Hooper hesitated when he saw her expression. She looked genuinely pleased to see him. Something was terribly wrong. He turned to flee out the door, but he was already too late. Lucas smiled and waved the gun at him in a friendly fashion.

"Time to go to sleep."

A neat blow from the side of the sonic sent Hooper's unconscious frame sprawling on the floor. Lucas pulled the string off his neck and tossed the key to Mira.

"That man has the best sense of timing I've ever seen."

She nodded emphatically as Jim showed up in the doorway and glanced down at Hooper.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Go back to your post."

As he shook his head and disappeared again, Mira turned to the safe, twisting the key and opening the door smoothly.

"It's not here."

"What?!" Lucas darted towards Mira as she turned around and held his precious Box out to him.

"Kidding."

Mira smiled a little as he took the Box with a relieved sigh, closing his eyes tightly and hugging it to himself for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, Mira was watching him impatiently.

"Assuming this little reunion is over, I'd love it if we could accomplish what we came here for."

Lucas threw an amused glance in her direction before going back through the doorway to join Jim in the larger section of the tent. Mira followed him, giving Hooper a last kick to make sure he was properly unconscious. As Lucas put the Box down on Hooper's table and opened it up, Mira turned to Jim.

"He'll be out to it for a while, but try to hurry. Most of the high-ranking soldiers are still loyal to him, and there's more of them than I'd like. Finish up and get out of camp as soon as you can. I don't want this to turn ugly." She hesitated and glanced at Lucas with a frown. "Maybe I should stay with you after all."

"No, you go. Your people need you with them. We'll be fine."

Mira nodded slowly, and muttered in a low voice.

"Look after him. Under all the violence and bitterness, he's just a hurt kid."

"I know." Jim met Mira's gaze. "Go."

She nodded and raised her voice to address Lucas again.

"Hurry up. I'll meet you outside the camp."

Lucas saluted her without looking up, still busy with his calculations. Jim smiled after her as she ducked out the door. Mira had a soft side, regardless of how she chose to depict herself. He resumed his previous occupation of guarding the door.

"What was prison like?"

He glanced around at Lucas with a frown. The physicist was still working, but he glanced up at Jim with raised eyebrows.

"Why? And shouldn't you be concentrating?"

"I can concentrate."

"Okay .." Jim turned back around to look out the door. "Well, it was dark, for one thing. It was never the right temperature - always either too hot or too cold. Oh, and the air was toxic. Let's not forget that." Jim's voice took on an edge of bitterness as he spoke. "They treated us like animals. We were stripped of our rights, our freedom, our dignity. Even the smallest decisions were taken out of our hands. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was .. not being able to see my family. My kids grew up and I missed it. My youngest daughter grew into such a smart little girl with her own mind and opinions and I'll never get to watch it happen."

He glanced back around to see Lucas watching him seriously.

"Why do you ask?"

Lucas shrugged and continued tapping the hologram, causing glowing shapes to fly this way and that.

"Just curious, I guess."

Jim watched him with a nagging uneasiness.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Lucas?"

"Come on, how many times have I lied to you?"

Jim racked his brain for a few seconds, and was somewhat annoyed when he couldn't come up with anything. He shrugged.

"I dunno."

"And how many times have you lied to me?"

"Lucas, that was different and you know it."

Lucas continued on, unmoved.

"So if _anyone_ should be having trust issues here .."

"Alright, alright, get on with it."

The young physicist grinned and resumed his typing, pausing every now and then to swipe some translucent object through the air above him. A few minutes later, they heard the sound of heavy footsteps run by, followed almost immediately by the piercing scream of the alarm echoing through the camp. Lucas suddenly finished his frantic typing and looked up at Jim.

"They'll be swarming this place in a minute, looking for Hooper. This is taking too long. I need to stay with it until it finishes. You should go."

Jim was unpersuaded.

"I'll stay with you. I promised Mira I would."

"No, you can't do anything here!" Lucas' reply came out harsher than he had intended, but Jim stayed put. Lucas shook his head.

"You can't hold them off with two sonics, there's too many. Look, I don't have a family. You do. You can't miss any more of their lives. They need you-"

"Lucas .."

"Your kids need you. More than you realise." He smiled half-heartedly. "Trust me. I know."

As Jim began to object again, Lucas grew impatient.

"Shannon, get out of here while there's still time. Go!"

Jim stood halfway between Lucas and the tent entrance. Lucas watched as he struggled with the impossible decision.

"Jim .." He smiled reassuringly. ".. go. Once you're out, tell Mira to push the button. I'll be right behind you."

As a series of yells broke out from the next tent over, Jim sighed and took a step forward, gripping Lucas' shoulder tightly.

"There's a family waiting for you if you want one, you know." He hesitated while Lucas digested this information. "And .. she'd be proud of you."

Lucas looked down at the floor of the tent and nodded silently. His eyes flicked back up as Jim gave his shoulder a final pat and ran toward the door.

"You better be right behind me. Good luck."

With that, he disappeared, the image of Lucas standing alone in the middle of the tent forever burned into his memory.

* * *

As Jim fled toward the tree line, the camp seemed to be erupting into chaos behind him. It was a miracle he'd managed to avoid capture, but some of the soldiers seemed to have begun fighting amongst themselves and the others were too busy trying to break up the fight to notice him. As he reached the group waiting on the rim, Mira looked behind him and then grabbed his shoulders tightly.

"Where's Lucas?! You were supposed to stay WITH him! Shannon, so help me, if he's injured-"

She threw Jim aside and began to run back into the frantic camp, but he darted forward and grabbed her arm.

"Mira, wait. To go back in now would be suicide. Hooper wouldn't hesitate to kill you-"

"They'll let me through! I'm going."

Jim tightened his grip.

"Have you seen what's going on down there?! They're out of their minds. You'll be lucky if they even recognise you."

"Shannon, I'm warning you. LET. GO."

"He stayed of his own free will. Let him be."

"Let him BE?!" Mira shrugged Jim off violently. "You don't understand what's at stake here!"

Skye and Malcolm, standing just behind her, exchanged a worried glance. Jim raised his hands.

"Fine. Run in there after him then."

As Mira began to do just that, Carter suddenly yelled.

"There he is!"

They all watched anxiously - Mira included - as Lucas ran out of the tent, still clutching the Box. He dodged a few attacks and fled across the stretch of sand toward them. Just as it seemed he was going to make it, another figure appeared out of the tent behind him.

"Hey, genius!"

He paused and turned to see Hooper's cruel smile. Above it, the leader of the Phoenix Group was shouldering a nasty-looking bazooka. The group on the hill were so focused on the scene below, they barely heard Carter's incredulous mutter.

"Where did THAT come from?!"

Hooper took a step toward Lucas.

"Thought you got away? My head's harder than you figured."

"So it would seem."

Lucas began to back away slowly, looking grim. If Hooper was any sort of shot, distance wouldn't make much of a difference. Hooper laughed hoarsely.

"Trying to outrun me? Didn't think I had any more tricks up my sleeve, didja?" The dirty little man braced himself as his eyes flashed darkly.

"You were wrong. Goodbye!"

Lucas turned and began to run again as Hooper's bazooka blasted a large bullet of fire in his direction, but it was no use, of course. He couldn't outrun it. Luckily, Hooper was a terrible marksman. He missed Lucas entirely and the missile came to rest in the hood of an abandoned Rover, which had been left sitting outside the camp for weeks. For a short moment, the world fell silent. The relief amongst the waiting party was almost audible, but it was not to last. Half a second later, the Rover exploded into flames and blew apart, throwing sharp pieces of twisted metal through the air with terrifying force. Most of the evil shards landed harmlessly in the sand or smashed into rocks, causing loud secondary explosions. One of them, however, headed straight for Hooper. The look of fear surfaced on his face a nanosecond before the impact. He fell with a scream as the barbed dagger ripped viciously into his upper leg. The horrid sound stopped Lucas in his tracks again .. and it was very well it did, because at the same moment, a large piece of metal sheeting speared past directly ahead of him. Alas, the flying ruins of the Rover showed no favouritism to either side. As Lucas turned to look over his shoulder at Hooper, his left side was pierced by a similar fragment ricocheting off a hard stone nearby. The others watched in horror as he fell. Leaving Mira's distressed cry of "No!" behind them, Jim and Skye were the first to run back, followed closely by Malcolm and Carter. At the same time, a group of Phoenix soldiers emerged from the camp in front of them, drawn by the sound of the explosion. As Skye and Malcolm dropped on either side of Lucas, Jim and Carter stood between them and the oncoming members of Hooper's team with sonics poised. Lucas lay still with a hand on his bleeding side. As he caught sight of the others, he livened up a little and looked around. Skye stared at his wound with a sickening sense of dread. She exchanged a glance with Malcolm before turning back to Lucas.

"Lucas? Lucas, can you hear me?"

He blinked and smiled up at her, squinting because of the sun.

"What's the matter? 'Fraid someone else might've finished your job for you?"

Skye swallowed the fear threatening to strangle her and stared at him with concern.

"Oh no. They wounded your sense of humour, didn't they?"

Lucas choked with painful laughter.

"C'mon, Bucket. That's no way to talk to a dying man."

As Jim and Carter delivered a warning shot to the Phoenix soldiers to keep them at bay, Mira appeared and shoved Skye to the side a little.

"Move. We have to get out of here. Now." She turned to Lucas. "Can you stand?"

Lucas looked up at her and nodded, turning to the side and stretching his right arm out for something that lay just beyond his reach. Mira nodded to it.

"Skye, get the Box. Malcolm, help me with him."

"We can't move him!"

"Malcolm." Mira glanced at Jim and Carter. The Phoenix soldiers were pressing forward, and their sonics were rapidly being depleted. "We don't have a choice."

Malcolm looked equally as serious and spoke in a low voice.

"If you leave it in there, it could cause a lot more damage."

Lucas suddenly reached a hand out and pulled the shard free himself with a cry of agony. He slumped down, pale and only half conscious. Malcolm hurriedly took his jacket off and bound Lucas' side with it.

"That'll have to do. Quickly."

Lucas cried out again as they began to move him. Malcolm put an arm around him and, with Mira on the other side, lifted him as gently as they could.

"Come on, buddy. I'm not about to lose another apprentice."

Lucas' eyes closed tightly as if a new pain had just speared through him, but he remained quiet. As Mira and Malcolm half-lifted and half-dragged him toward the tree line, Skye followed with the beaten Box. It had been throw a few feet away when Lucas had fallen, and by the looks of it, had landed on a particularly rocky patch of sand. The once-sleek finish was now scratched and rough, and a few small dents could be seen across the top and over the left edge. She glanced behind her to see Jim and Carter nearby, still holding the other soldiers off with the sonics as they backed away. Beyond them, a small crowd had gathered around Hooper.

As they finally made it up the steep incline and rejoined the rest of the Sixers in the trees, Mira and Malcolm laid Lucas down and she turned on him angrily.

"You were supposed to leave that inside."

"It'll still work." Lucas gasped painfully for breath. "I promise."

Mira shook her head.

"It better."

With a glance at Skye, who still held the Box in her arms, Mira turned to Carter and nodded. He immediately pulled a small sphere out of his vest.

"Do it."

At the command of his superior, Carter popped open the top of the sphere and pressed the button within. Even the Phoenix soldiers paused and turned around as a low rumble sounded from the centre of the campsite.

"Better get down."

The Terra Novans followed the Sixers' lead and crouched among the trees as the fractures all around the rim began to flare and crackle. Moments later, the centre of the camp went up in an electric blue cloud.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

When the flickering cloud dispersed to show dozens of still bodies strewn around the silent camp, Jim gaped at Mira.

"_PLEASE_ tell me you did not just commit mass genocide."

"Relax, Shannon, they'll just be .. sleeping .. for a while."

"What if they come after us?"

"They might try, but with no weapons, no transportation, no food, and very little water, they won't get very far."

"So they'll die anyway."

"Not if they're smart."

"Wait .." The weak voice spoke up from the jungle floor, where Malcolm was tending to Lucas. ".. that emotional farewell was because you thought we were going to assassinate the entire neighbourhood?"

Lucas choked with laughter, which quickly turned into a sob of pain.

"Easy." Malcolm frowned in concentration as he pushed the sonic strapped to Lucas aside so he could further examine the wound. "We're not out of the woods yet."

"How long?" Mira stared down at them impatiently.

Malcolm glared up at her.

"I'm sorry, are you a doctor? It'll take as long as it takes."

Mira subsided and sat on a nearby rock to wait the process out. The others followed suit, sitting on low tree branches or rocks nearby. Some, like Skye, sat on the forest floor. She watched Malcolm work anxiously, still hugging the Box. It provided a certain amount of comfort, though she didn't know why. They may be free, for now, but they certainly weren't home yet. They had a long way to go. Suddenly, she felt exhausted.

"Hey." Jim nudged her as she leaned back against a tree and looked up at him. "You okay?"

She nodded calmly.

"We made it. I just want to go home .. and sleep."

She laughed then, and Jim laughed with her.

"Amen to that."

"Right." Malcolm finally sat back. "The bleeding's stopped, and I think that should hold until we get back. Just don't go wrestling any dinosaurs in the meantime, okay?"

Lucas grinned up at him. Some of the colour was already coming back into his face.

"Been there, done that."

"Good work."

Malcolm looked up to see Mira watching him with a previously-unseen element of respect on her face. He tilted his head and placed his hand on his chest in mock surprise.

"I'm sorry, was that an actual compliment from the ice queen of the enemy camp?"

Mira rolled her eyes and nodded to Lucas.

"Can he sit up now?"

"Should be alright, if you're careful." Malcolm turned back to his patient, looking thoughtful. "Not sure how easy it's going to be to travel, though."

"The Rhino should be just over there." Jim nodded in the right direction. "Assuming it still works, we can drive him slowly home in that while the others walk alongside."

Malcolm slapped his knees and nodded at the suggestion.

"Done!"

As it happened, the Rhino was still in good working order (and Carter was rather ashamed of himself for not noticing its hiding spot). Lucas was manoeuvred into the back with Malcolm beside him. As Jim and Skye began to close the back door, Lucas suddenly sat up.

"Wait." With difficulty, he removed his holster and held it out to Skye. "This, I believe, is yours."

She accepted it and examined it in confusion before looking back up at him.

"It is mine. But how .. ?"

He smiled and leaned back wearily.

"Some things shall remain a mystery."

"Right." She shook her head, smiling at him for the first time in days. "In that case, I believe this is yours."

She leaned in and placed the Box carefully beside him. Lucas looked at it and grimaced.

"What did you do to it, use it as a teething toy for a Nykoraptor?"

"Hey, don't look at me." Skye slipped on the holster and put her hands up. "That was all you .. with a little help from Hooper."

"Hm." Lucas watched her for a moment, looking vaguely displeased.

"Right." Jim waited for Skye to step back and then closed the door firmly. "Let's be off."

The journey was, understandably, very slow. Skye, Carter, and Mira wandered around in the heat beside the crawling Rhino, with Skye occasionally joining Jim in the front seat when she got tired. If Mira and Carter ever tired of walking, they never admitted it. When night fell, they hauled Lucas up into a tree and the group of Sixers spread out amongst the branches of the trees surrounding it.

At some point during the night, Lucas began to mutter to himself, tossing his head this way and that. A particularly distressed cry awoke Malcolm and Skye, who were perched nearby. Malcolm began to creep forward with a frown to check on him, but Mira, on Lucas' right, held her hand out. Malcolm paused and hissed at her.

"He's delirious. It might be getting infected."

Mira studied him thoughtfully.

"He does this a lot. You haven't heard him do it before?"

Malcolm shook his head slowly and Mira sat back.

"Well, he's fine. Just let him sleep. It's not his body that troubles him."

Malcolm hesitated, but seeing as Lucas appeared to have calmed down a little, he returned to his original spot.

A few minutes later, just as they were getting back to sleep, Lucas cried out again. This time Skye, stretched out sleepily on the branch above him, dropped her arm down and rested her hand on his shoulder. Unaware of Mira's annoyed glare, she left it there and he soon grew quieter and slept more peacefully. Exhausted as they were, the rest of the night passed in relative calm, and when they awoke the next morning, none of the witnesses of the night's events ever mentioned a thing.

When they paused for lunch the following day, Lucas was dragged out of the Rhino again and placed against a nearby tree. Malcolm checked his wound and pronounced it acceptable. His ripped shirt had been replaced with one of Malcolm's spare shirts that they'd discovered in the Rhino, and he looked a fair bit brighter and happier than he had the previous day. As Malcolm sat down beside him to eat, Lucas suddenly turned to him solemnly.

"I'm sorry .. about McCormick."

Malcolm looked up at him in surprise.

"You remembered .."

Lucas nodded slowly.

"It got out of hand .. but there's no excuse." He played with a long stem of grass near his hand. "I can't take it back and I know you can't forgive me for it. I didn't kill him with my own hands, but I was responsible for it. I'm sorry." He repeated.

Malcolm took a deep breath and nodded.

"Well, Jason would be pretty pleased with himself right about now. He loved a good apology, so long as it wasn't him who had to make it."

Malcolm laughed then and even Lucas was smiling when Jim approached.

"Almost ready to go? This train is about to leave the station."

As Malcolm jumped up, Lucas squinted up at Jim.

"Hey .. Are we good now?"

"Ohhhh no." Jim slapped him on the arm with grin, causing Lucas to suck in his breath with pain. "Not by a long shot."

Lucas nodded, still wincing.

"Good to know."

Malcolm shot Jim an irritated look as the latter bent down to help Lucas up. As Jim stood, supporting half of Lucas' weight, he raised his eyebrows at Malcolm.

"Well, don't help at all, Malcolmus."

"Unbelievable." Malcolm rolled his head backward with a loud sigh and walked away from them, pointing his hand in the air. "I'll get the door."

The next few days passed in much the same fashion - walking, driving, eating, sleeping in trees, only to wake up and continue on. A very worried Curran and Guzman had been overtaken and picked up on the second day. First, seeing all the Sixers, they had tried to run, but Mira and Jim had caught them and explained. The shock on the faces of the two security team members rapidly turned into joyful relief. They had been terrified! On the same day, they had passed the second Rhino (before nightfall this time, thankfully), where they stopped and retrieved their abandoned belongings. Before long, familiar sights started coming into view - Arrowpoint Lake, Memorial Field, Snakehead Falls. At the end of the fourth day, they finally came within sight of the colony gates.

* * *

Reilly shook her head, having to give the woman in front of her the same line she'd been hearing for the past few days .. there was no news. The last they had heard was that the group was on their way back. By this stage, most of the colony knew where they'd gone and why, but Reilly wasn't very worried. If they were coming home, they'd obviously gotten away unsuspected. She turned back to Deborah and shook her head.

"Sorry. Nothing yet."

Deborah nodded understandingly. She had come to the Command Centre at twilight every day since Skye had left, hoping for news of her daughter. What she didn't know was that Reilly was supposed to go home half an hour ago, but she stayed. She knew Deborah was coming, and she didn't want to let her go the night not knowing .. even if she had to tell her the same thing every time she saw her. As Deborah smiled at her and turned to leave, they both suddenly paused and looked at each other. Was that the sound of a vehicle? A few seconds later, a yell was heard from the tower.

"THE SIXERS ARE COMING!"

"That's all we need." Reilly put a hand on Deborah's arm. "Stay here."

As she walked away, barking orders into her radio, Deborah went to the railing and looked out. The Sixers were coming alright, with one Rhino in the middle of them. They stopped about 20 metres from the front gate and the Rhino door opened. As she watched, a familiar figure jumped out. Jim.

"Open the gate!" Jim waved his arms at the guard towers. "It's us!"

With a confused glance at each other, the guards hesitantly opened the gate. Reilly and a group of soldiers gathered on the other side, weapons in hand. As the Rhino continued driving in slowly without Jim, he turned and said something to Mira, who nodded and fell back with the rest of the Sixers. Guzman, Curran, and Jim walked in through the front gate, followed closely by the Rhino while the Sixers waited outside. As Jim turned and gave the Rhino a thumbs up, the guards began to close the gate. He whistled up at them to draw their attention.

"Don't close the gate! Leave it open! I'll explain in a minute." He turned to see Reilly emerging from the crowd of soldiers and civilians gathering behind her. She greeted him with a smile.

"Welcome home, sir."

"Thank you, Sergeant. Good to be home."

At that moment, Elisabeth broke out of the crowd behind her and ran to her husband.

"Jim!"

As they hugged each other tightly, Reilly went to greet the two soldiers who had walked in with their Commander. Meanwhile, Deborah watched anxiously from the railing. No sign of Skye yet. Where was she?

Skye put the Rhino in park and climbed into the back to help Malcolm. Lucas was mostly able to walk on his own, but throughout that day, he had grown weaker. All three of them were thankful they'd finally made it home. Malcolm swung the back door of the Rhino open and climbed out, taking a deep breath.

"Ahh, Terra Nova. Well, come on then." He patted the back of the vehicle. "No one's gonna be coming to hug me, so I guess I'm stuck with you two."

Lucas snorted.

"Glad we're such a priority for you, Malcolm."

"Your appreciation is noted." Malcolm stood outside the Rhino with a pleasant smile. "Now, are you coming out or not?"

Skye laughed and climbed out the back, jumping down and turning to help Malcolm with Lucas. The invalid ignored their outstretched hands and pulled himself out, panting when he reached the edge of the vehicle. Malcolm shook his head and addressed his next comment to Skye.

"Stubborn one, isn't he?"

"Indeed." Skye folded her arms and shook her head at Lucas. "Always has to do things the hard way."

"It'd be so much easier if he'd just let us help him."

"I know, but what can we do? If he doesn't _want_ our help .."

"Alright, alright." Lucas shook his head and laughed. "I give up."

"Good." Malcolm nodded with satisfaction and stepped forward. With Skye on one side and Malcolm on the other, Lucas was helped out and soon stood on Terra Novan soil with his own feet. The three of them looked around contentedly. The civilians had dispersed somewhat and most of the soldiers were busy hearing what Guzman and Curran had to say for themselves, though some of the security team were leaning on the fence and keeping an eye on the Sixers. Jim was stepping away from Elisabeth and walking back towards the gate. He met Malcolm, Lucas, and Skye on the way.

"I gave Elisabeth a brief explanation of what happened. The best idea is to take him to the Infirmary, I think. She can have a look at him there."

"You're the boss."

Jim nodded and headed back out the gate with Reilly to where Mira was still standing. When Skye turned to look back at them, it seemed the three of them were having rather a heated discussion. She turned around again abruptly as she heard someone call her name.

"Skye!"

To Skye's surprise, Deborah suddenly materialised in front of her.

"Mom!"

Deborah took her into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're safe. I was worried."

"I know .." With an arm around her mother and an arm still around Lucas, it was somewhat of an awkward hug, but Deborah didn't seem to notice. She released Skye and stepped back, turning to Lucas, who was watching her quietly. Deborah smiled.

"I'm glad you both are."

As Lucas smiled back and nodded in reply, she stepped forward and put her arms around him as well. He lifted his arms over the heads of his crutches and steadied himself so he could hug Deborah back, though he winced as the pain in his side shot through him. When Deborah released him and stepped back once again, Malcolm folded his arms.

"Well, I see no one's glad _I'm_ safe. Typical."

Deborah laughed and shook her head at him, holding her arms out. Malcolm smiled happily and came in for a hug, stepping back a moment later with a large grin on his face.

"I'm glad you're _all_ safe."

"Thank you, Deborah."

"You're welcome."

"Oh, there you are." Elisabeth appeared beside Deborah and looked hard at Lucas. "I heard you've had a bit of a rough time."

He started to shake his head, but the motion dizzied him and he had to put a hand on Skye's shoulder to steady himself. Elisabeth folded her arms as he laughed sheepishly.

"Mhm. Come on then. Let's take a look at you." She glanced at Deborah. "I should really check on Zoe anyway. I asked Ogawa to watch her for a minute while I ducked out."

As Deborah raised her eyebrows with a short laugh, Elisabeth turned to Malcolm.

"Malcolm! So glad you're back! It hasn't been the same without you around here. Could you help bring Lucas to the Infirmary please?" She had her business voice on again now. "And Skye, could you .. unless .."

Elisabeth and Skye glanced at Deborah, who shook her head with a smile.

"You do what you have to do. I'll have dinner ready for you when you come home, and you can tell me all about it."

Skye nodded.

"Thanks, Mom."

Deborah winked at her and disappeared into the dusk.

* * *

A few minutes later, Lucas found himself lying in his old Infirmary bed staring at the billowing sheets on the ceiling. He took a deep breath and sighed. Back again. The bed, however, was more comfortable than he remembered it. He was almost asleep when Elisabeth came back in.

"Sorry about that. How are you feeling?"

He turned his head and looked up at her.

"A little sore. Mostly tired."

Elisabeth nodded.

"Okay, let's take a look."

She reached for something on the bedside table, but looked around with a frown when she failed to retrieve it.

"Sorry, I must've forgot to bring it in." She smiled at Lucas. "Hectic day. Let me just go get it. Won't be a minute."

As she walked out of the cubicle, Lucas heard another voice mix with hers.

"Dr. Shannon, I was wondering if you could help me. It'll only take a second .." As the voices faded, someone else spoke up from the doorway.

"You're here again."

He turned to see Zoe watching him.

"As always, very perceptive, kiddo."

Zoe took that as an invite and came into the room to stand beside his bed.

"Are you hurt?"

Lucas glanced down at the growing blood stain on the borrowed shirt. He must've reopened his wound again somehow. Malcolm would be thrilled. He looked back at the little girl in front of him and shook his head carelessly.

"Just a little."

"Well, you'll survive. You always do." Zoe reassured him placidly.

Lucas smiled sideways at her.

"Thanks, kid."

Zoe was silent for a moment, looking at the wound, before turning her brown eyes on him again.

"What happened?"

Lucas grinned and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Well-"

"Zoe!" Elisabeth came into the room and folded her arms as she saw her youngest child. "What are you doing here? We've talked about this!"

Zoe looked up at her mother, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"I wanted to see what happened this time. He gets hurt a lot." She hurriedly added on the end as way of explanation.

"Yes, he does, doesn't he?" Elisabeth glanced at Lucas with a small smile. "Hopefully he'll try to stay out of harm's way in the future."

Lucas raised his hand slowly, as if it hurt to do so.

"I shall try my best not to fatally injure myself in the near and possibly foreseeable future."

"Well, that's something." As Elisabeth came around his other side, she prepared to shoo Zoe.

"Zoe, I need to finish fixing up this wound. I don't think you want to watch it. Why don't you go wait outside til I'm done, okay, sweetie?"

Zoe looked up at her mother.

"I want to watch!"

"I really don't think-"

"It'll be educational!"

As Lucas looked from one to the other curiously, Elisabeth frowned.

"Well, Malcolm did a decent job with what he had, but it still won't be pretty. Are you sure you want to see it?"

Zoe nodded eagerly and Elisabeth glanced at Lucas.

"You okay with her staying?"

Lucas shrugged.

"Why not? The way things are going, SHE might be operating on me when I'm 65."

"I hope you won't be running around and getting yourself shot at when you're 65." Elisabeth said wryly. "Then again, maybe it runs in the family."

"Maybe it does."

She lifted up his shirt carefully. The cut was long and deep, but thankfully, it had missed his vital organs. Malcolm had patched it up sufficiently to stop him from bleeding out. His stitches were very neat and effective - on the way home, Lucas had already started to heal. His wound wasn't pretty, but it was stable and uninfected. With the technology available to her, Elisabeth was able to clean it, close it up and seal it very quickly. He'd have to be careful for a little while, but most of the pain was gone and there was no longer any danger of infection. He would, however, still get another scar out of it. She cast a thoughtful eye toward the round scars on the right side of his body before turning back to her daughter. Zoe had been watching this process with wide eyes. Now, she looked up at Elisabeth eagerly.

"It almost looks better again!"

"The miracles of modern medicine!" Elisabeth swung her laser gun around and blew the end of it, making Zoe laugh as she placed it down on the table beside her.

"Now." She looked down at Lucas. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Lucas pulled himself up carefully into a sitting position, while Elisabeth watched closely.

"Good. You'll have to be careful with it for a while, mind you. No scampering about like a wild rabbit."

"Aw, that was gonna be the first thing I did when I left."

"Yes .." Elisabeth laughed. ".. I can almost see you bounding out of the Infirmary."

Zoe laughed with them and then leaned on the bed, watching Lucas expectantly.

"So what happened to you? How did you get hurt?"

Lucas glanced up at Elisabeth, who shrugged.

"I'm finished here. You can tell it if you like, or I'll take Zoe away and you can rest. Up to you."

Zoe looked at her mother and then back to Lucas anxiously. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then smiled.

"I suppose I could tell you."

"Yay!"

So it was that Skye, wandering up the hallway a few minutes later, heard:

"And then he pulled out this massive bazooka, and-"

"And he shot you with it?!" Zoe stared at him wide-eyed as Lucas nodded solemnly.

"He-"

".. did not hit anywhere near you." Skye appeared in the doorway, laughing. "Zoe, let me tell you what _really_ happened."

Lucas feigned annoyance as Zoe turned around in delight. Skye walked into the room and patted Lucas' leg.

"Here, move over. Let me sit down."

Lucas scoffed, but moved his leg as Skye jumped up.

"Don't know why I should. I'm the one who's weak and injured, and she wants to take my bed." He looked pathetically at Zoe and then back to Skye. "You'll see, soon she'll want my kidneys as well."

Skye smiled at him.

"I don't need them today."

"Well, thank goodness for-"

"Can I put them on hold for the day after tomorrow?"

Lucas looked mortally offended for a moment, but quickly dissolved into melancholy as he leaned his head back on the bed rest.

"What did I tell you?"

Zoe and Elisabeth laughed and Skye picked up the story from where he left off.

"So anyway, he pulled out this massive bazooka-"

"And he shot me with it!" Lucas threw his hands in the air. "That's what I said!"

"Shh." Skye glanced haughtily at him. "It's my story now."

Lucas subsided with an indignant snort as Skye continued again.

".. and he missed Lucas completely and shot this Rover that was sitting nearby. Well, the Rover exploded, and a piece flew into Lucas! That's what happened."

Lucas glanced at Zoe and frowned.

"You're terrible at telling stories, Bucket. No build-up, no drama .."

As Skye opened her mouth to reply, Elisabeth spoke up.

"Well, not that this hasn't been fun, but we should really let Lucas get some rest now."

"Oh, I'm not-"

"We should really _make_ Lucas get some rest now." Elisabeth rephrased herself immediately with a laughing glance at Lucas. "You will be staying here overnight, just so we can keep an eye on you. You can go home in the morning."

Lucas sighed dramatically, though secretly he enjoyed all the attention.

"Very well."

"Good." Elisabeth held the curtain open for Zoe and Skye, and within a minute or two, Lucas was once again alone in his little room.

* * *

"Where will we put them?!"

"Reilly, come on. There aren't THAT many of them, and you know there's enough empty houses."

"What will the people say?!"

"I'll explain it to them. They gave Curran a second chance, why not the Sixers?"

"But Commander-"

"Reilly, they _saved_ us. If they cross the line, we can boot them back out of camp." He shot a smile at Mira, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation.

Reilly shook her head exasperatedly, but remained quiet as Jim looked around.

"So are we good?"

Reilly said nothing. Jim nodded in exhaustion.

"Good. Let's go." He led the way inside, followed by Mira, Carter, and the rest of the Sixers. Once everyone was within the colony borders, he lifted an arm and called out.

"Close the gate!"

The gate immediately began to close. He waited until it had come down completely before turning to Reilly again.

"Reilly, I want you and Dunham to take Carter and show him where they can stay for the night. There's a line of new houses on the west side that were reserved for the 11th pilgrimage. Use those."

Reilly turned and muttered.

"And we all know the reason those houses are still vacant."

"Reilly .." Jim spoke up in a warning tone.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Try not to shoot them before you get them settled."

"Yes, Commander."

As Carter followed Reilly away with a backwards glance at Mira, Jim folded his arms and turned to her. It was now dark, and Mira cut a strange figure under the colony lights.

"So tell me. Why did you _need_ to follow Lucas back here?"

Mira folded her arms and raised her chin in defiance.

"If you don't know, Shannon, you're not as smart as I took you for."

Jim tilted his head.

"As much as I appreciate the compliment, I'm still going to have to hear it from you. Why do you need to be here? What do you need to do?"

Mira sighed, but looked him in the eye.

"I need him to fix the Portal so I can go home."

"Mhm." Jim shook his head slowly at her. "And I can guarantee you, that is never going to happen."

"Why not?"

"Come on, Mira, taking you back into the camp is one thing, but rebuilding the Portal? You could be planning anything. You could bring another army through!" As Mira objected, Jim held up his hands. "Now I don't believe you are planning that. As far as I go, I'm willing to believe you have good intentions. But it's impossible. I'm sorry."

Mira shook her head at him, looking angry and sad all at once.

"Look, you HAVE your family. I don't. If anyone here can understand, I thought it would be you." Jim listened in silence as she continued. "10 seconds. That's all I need it to be on for. Just long enough for me to step through it."

As Jim remained silent, Mira's voice took on an element of pleading.

"Please. She's my daughter. You broke every rule in the book to get your family back. 10 seconds. That's all I ask. Please."

"Alright." Mira's face lit up as Jim conceded. "On two conditions. One - Malcolm oversees the project the entire time. And two - If Lucas does succeed in getting the Portal working - and that's still a massive IF - you call me before you leave. I want to be there."

Mira sighed with relief and nodded her head.

"That I can do. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Malcolm still has to agree to it."

Malcolm, as it turned out, was surprisingly easy to persuade. After he'd had a long shower, a good night's sleep, and a decent meal, he was ready to tackle just about anything. Lucas would begin work on the Portal once he'd had a few days to recover.

Speaking of Lucas, our invalid stayed in the Infirmary overnight and was returned to his house the following day. As he stepped through his doorframe, past his kitchen, and into his familiar lounge room, he found himself feeling more content than he ever remembered feeling in his life. When night fell, he sat for a few minutes and watched the darkness grow deeper outside. The flowers under his windowsill disappeared from view, and the quiet chirping of crickets began. Lucas found himself growing drowsier by the minute. Finally, he picked himself up and sought out his bed. The breeze ruffled the ceiling material gently as he sank down into his welcoming sheets. Pulling the cool covers up, he nestled his heavy head into the soft pillow and drew his blanket close to him. As his eyes closed, he felt himself falling gently and found his mind drifting peacefully away. Soon, he was fast asleep and breathing quietly, as his small room was lit up in the soft glow of the moon.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

Carter moved swiftly and silently through the jungle, his senses alert for any possible threat. It had been 2 weeks since he had abandoned the colony with a few other Sixers and returned to their former home in the forest. It hadn't taken much on his part to convince Mira to let them go. He felt she understood, and if circumstances had been different, she probably would've been the first to join him. As it was, she had had half a mind to go with them when they had stolen away from the colony under the shadow of darkness, but not even the strongest call of the wild could tear her away from that Portal. Chances are, the whole 'sneaking out under the cover of darkness' routine was highly unnecessary. In all probability, Jim would've let them go freely, and might've even sent them off with food and supplies for the journey as well, but they were Sixers. Regardless of their newfound friendliness with the colony, old habits died hard. And as for the Portal .. ! Heap of junk. Carter had very real doubts that anyone could breathe life into that machine again, not even Lucas, but Mira held onto the hope as if her very life depended on it. Maybe it did. He didn't know what she was going to do if it didn't work. She couldn't lose her daughter again. She'd never give up ..

A crackle from just ahead of him pierced his thoughts and put all worries about Mira and the Portal to rest for the moment. Carter smiled to himself and tensed, standing silently and listening for any further sounds that might give away his companion's location. What was it this time? Slasher? Nykoraptor? He frowned as the crackling grew gradually louder. He still had no view of the intruder, but this sound was different to the usual sound of an animal .. more rhythmic. Just as he remembered where he'd heard it before, the atmosphere a few metres from him seemed to burst open and he fell back, blinded by a brilliant blue light. As he fell to the grass, he heard a couple of distant screams coming from the beacon in front of him, shortly after which, the fracture seemed to explode in blue fire. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished with a thunderous clap. _That_ was new. Carter blinked blearily, and as his vision returned, his eyes came to focus on a small form lying on the grass. As he watched, the small figure shook and pushed itself up into a sitting position. He sat dead still, not making a sound as the little girl gazed around slowly. After a moment, her large brown eyes came to rest on him and she froze as well. They stared at each other expressionlessly. Her dark brown hair was braided into two plaits and her clothes - though somewhat affected by the explosive trip through the fracture - seemed to be of high quality. Clearly, this child came from a rich family .. so what on earth was she doing here? Finally, Carter spoke.

"Who are you?"

The little girl ignored his question, immediately countering it with a question of her own.

"Where is my Grandfather?"

He tried a different question.

"Where did you come from?"

"Where am I?"

"How old are you?"

"How old are _you_?"

The girl stood up and folded her arms, raising her chin at him imperiously. Something about the movement triggered his memory. He stood slowly up as well. The girl planted her feet and refused to move, but she tensed. He could sense she was ready to run at any moment. He tilted his head to the side, watching her curiously.

"Sienna, right?"

The little girl watched him warily, showing as little emotion as possible. For a child, she had a surprisingly good poker face.

"Who are you?" She repeated.

"Carter."

"Carter?" Sienna echoed, immediately appearing less suspicious, though she tried to maintain her act for as long as she could. She tilted her head at him.

"You work with my mother."

"That's right." Carter confirmed her guess, but made no move to offer any further information. "Your turn. Where did you come from?"

Sienna seemed to promptly give up and looked around curiously.

"Home. But it's gone. Where is it?" She looked back at him. "And where's my Grandfather? Am I in the dinosaur land?"

Carter folded his arms and nodded.

"Welcome to the new world." He smiled ironically and muttered under his breath. "Welcome home."

Sienna watched him in mild confusion.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Carter stared seriously at her.

"Look, wherever you came from, you're not getting back. I guess you'll have to come with me."

Sienna looked back to the empty space where her guardian had been a moment ago.

"But .. where is my Grandfather?"

"Look, I hate to break it to you, kid, but he's probably dead."

As Sienna swung back to face him in distress, a sharp bark burst from the trees nearby. Carter leapt forward and grabbed Sienna's arm.

"We have to go. Now."

"Let go!" Sienna tried to twist his hand off her arm, but his grip was too tight. Moments later, Carter felt a sharp pain in his hand. He dropped the little girl's arm like it was a venomous snake.

"Ow! You bit me, you little wretch!"

Sienna glared at him.

"You wouldn't let me go!"

Another bark sounded from a little closer to them. Carter raised his eyebrows at her.

"Look. You were right. You are in the dinosaur land, and some pretty nasty ones are coming for us if we don't get out of here real quick. Now you can come with me and live, or you can stay here and get eaten. Your choice. But I'm leaving."

Sienna watched in silence as Carter moved swiftly away from her. A few strides later, he felt his right hand suffocated in a tight grip. He looked down to see the little girl close beside him, travelling at a strange pace in an attempt to match his steps.

They carried on for a bit in silence, Sienna staring around with wide eyes while Carter stayed on the lookout. She was surprisingly quiet - almost as quiet as he was. Once he looked down at her approvingly and she smiled back up at him, but said nothing, evidently understanding the need for silence. Eventually, Carter deemed it safe and struck up a conversation again.

"What do you remember - before you arrived here?"

Sienna frowned.

"Well .. I was drawing in the kitchen. Grandfather said school was closed today." She explained. "Then I heard people yelling and he burst into the kitchen and gave Toady a heart attack!"

Sienna laughed up at him.

"I'm not supposed to call her that, but it suits her too well. Anyway."

Carter smiled to himself as she continued.

"Grandpa said something important was about to happen, and I had to come with him. I thought we were going to have another blizzard. He picked me up - I really am too big to be picked up, you know." She interrupted herself with a warning look at Carter, as if she expected him to try to pick her up then and there. Carter nodded solemnly and she continued, suitably reassured.

"There was an enormous bang and Grandfather said not to look, but I looked out the window anyway, and the buildings across the town were going up in fire and smoke! There was flames everywhere, and some of them were blue! I've never seen anything like it!"

They looked at one another for a moment, Carter thoughtful and the little girl eager and excited.

"Go on."

"Well." Sienna continued. "Grandfather took me to his study. He ignored the men that started banging on the door - I think they were gonna break it! - We went right past them and locked ourselves in the study. Then, as he started up the whirlpool, he gave me this."

She pulled a small item out of her pocket and showed him.

"He said it was for mom. I think it plugs into something, but I don't know what's on it."

The small storage device in her fingers glittered in the setting sun. Carter stared at it for a moment before replying.

"I know what it plugs into. Keep it safe, okay?"

Sienna nodded and put it carefully back in her pocket.

"When he gave me this, he hugged me tight and said something, but I didn't hear what it was because the men burst into the study! Grandfather turned to look at the men - they had guns! Big ones! - and told them they were making a mistake. They told him to turn off the whirlpool, but he didn't! Instead, he picked me up and threw me into the whirlpool! The men with guns shot at the same time."

Sienna looked up at Carter fearfully.

"Do you think they shot Grandfather?"

Carter stared down at her for a moment. Judging by the flames coming through that fracture, he didn't think they would've needed to shoot Grandfather. Everyone in that house would've been fried.

"I think .. your Grandfather's house was blown up, but he saved you. So let's get you back to your mom like he wanted."

Sienna nodded as they kept walking.

"I know he's dead. I just wanted to be sure."

Carter frowned at her, but she was looking at the trees and didn't notice.

"Sienna, what was this 'whirlpool' you mentioned?"

"Oh, that." Sienna appeared to be back to her old self again. "It looked like a huge ring until it was turned on. Then it was all blue and swirly. That's why we called it the whirlpool. He used it to communicate with my mother and she'd appear, right in the room! He told me once that it was connected to the Plaza underground and that's where the power came from. I didn't know PEOPLE could go through it!" She sighed sadly. "But now I suppose it's gone too."

Her listener nodded. She was taking her new fate surprisingly well. By her description, he was convinced she had got out just in time. Her "Grandfather" appeared keen on blowing everything up. Likely, she was the last traveller from the future for some time.

"It's getting dark." Sienna's monotone voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You're right. Ordinarily, I would keep travelling at night, but I suppose with you .."

"I can keep going!" The girl jumped in eagerly. "You don't have to slow down because of me."

Carter held his tongue and didn't tell her that she was already slowing him down a great deal. Instead, he listened for a moment. Nothing.

"Alright. We'll keep going. Maybe we'll reach my camp tonight."

"I hope so." Sienna sighed and kept walking. Neither of them noticed the large jaw open slightly to reveal a mouthful of jagged, stained teeth as it faded silently back into the bushes.

After about half an hour, the sun had set properly and the world was completely dark. Carter and Sienna were still walking. The trees were sparser now, which resulted in both an advantage and a disadvantage. They would have less places of refuge in case of danger, but they would be able to see the danger coming sooner. There was a field nearby, but Carter refused to travel in the open. Every now and then, a roar would sound, and though Sienna said nothing, she would hold his hand more tightly. The Sixer second-in-command was almost impressed. Brave kid. Just then, a loud growl came from behind them and they both swung around. Nothing there.

"Time to find a suitable tree, I think." Carter said uneasily. They were being watched.

"Tree?"

Before he could reply, a menacing head rose over the fork in the tree directly in front of them. The dinosaur's claws appeared around the sides of the tree and it pulled itself up, freezing and staring at them.

"Oh." With a few subtle movements, Carter had set a nearby branch alight and was holding it out to the creature. The firelight reflected off its catlike pupils.

"Ohh, I remember you. Back for some more fun, are you?"

As the Kaprosuchus sat in the fork of the short tree and watched the flames curl up in front of his face, Carter glanced sideways at Sienna and muttered.

"How good are you at climbing trees?"

She stared up at him for a moment before returning her gaze to the statue-like creature in front of her.

"I've never climbed a tree. There weren't any."

Carter nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Great. Well, you see that big green and brown thing on your left?"

"I know what a tree is."

"Yeah, good. Well, when I say go, run straight for it and I'll help you up."

"Okay."

"Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Go!" Carter continued to hold the fire out to deter the large carnivore as Sienna fled towards a nearby tree. When she had reached it, he followed her, backing up to it slowly with the torch still outstretched. The Kaprosuchus slid down off the tree fork and followed, slinking along like a cat. Carter tried to help Sienna up with one hand, but found it almost impossible. Sienna attempted to pull herself up, but couldn't quite reach the limb. The Kap was closing in. Carter finally gave up that tactic and handed the flaming torch to the little girl.

"Take it! I'll lift you!"

As she obeyed, he did just that, throwing her up onto the branch. He scrambled up behind her just as the dinosaur below them pounced. It landed with its feet planted against the tree, and bounced off again as gracefully as if it'd been a wild gazelle. Carter breathed a sigh of relief and took the torch back.

"At least we'll be safe up here. Hold on tight, though. If you fall .. off .. crap."

The Kaprosuchus had climbed up easily and was now standing in front of them on their 'safe' branch, blocking off the escape route. Sienna looked up at Carter and whispered.

"What do we do now?"

"Now .. we stand our ground .." Carter swung the torch out in front of the creature, but it didn't even flinch. ".. I guess."

At that moment, a wild cry came from below them, and all three of them turned to see what was going on. A couple of flaming torches were flying back and forth through the darkness under the tree.

"Come and get me then, you miserable coward!"

The Kaprosuchus began to move toward the yells, but hesitated as it recognised its enemy. As the torch flashed past the bearer's face, his features were illuminated for a split second. It was Nathaniel Taylor. The Kap seemed to pause for a moment, considering what to do. As Taylor mocked it further, it crept down the tree trunk and came to rest on the ground.

"Oh, just gonna sit there and catch your breath, are you?"

As if it understood him, the dinosaur immediately gathered itself and sprang, its large jaw preparing to close upon its nemesis' scruffy head. It met with a nasty surprise as Taylor flung one of the torches sideways at that moment and administered a nasty blow to the scaly face. The Kaprosuchus was less hurt than it was startled. It backed off a little and snarled. Taylor manoeuvred around it and planted one of the torches into the ground near the tree. With his other arm, he hoisted himself up into the tree. The dinosaur suddenly regained its courage and came bounding toward the tree trunk again, leaping up it with great agility. Taylor was ready for it. As the snarling head approached again, it immediately found a fireball crashing down upon it. The monster sat back, slightly dazed. Taylor growled at it.

"Come on, then."

The Kap tilted its head for a moment, let out a sharp bark, and leaped out of the tree, disappearing off into the night. Taylor sniffed in triumph.

"Yeah, I should think so. Until next time."

When he was sure it was gone, Taylor turned to examine his rescued damsels. When he recognised who he had just saved, his face dropped.

"Oh. It's you."

Carter scowled at the former Commander.

"I had everything under control."

Sienna looked up at Carter doubtfully, but said nothing. Taylor, on the other hand, wasn't so polite.

"Yeah, sure you did. If it wasn't for me, you'd both be in six pieces by now."

"Well, it's so very kind of you to care, but-"

"Oh, if it was just you, I would've been sitting down there enjoying the show!"

Carter glared out into the dark.

".. right."

"But you had someone else with you." Taylor nodded in Sienna's direction. "Mira's kid?"

Carter nodded, and Nathaniel dropped down to sit on the branch, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"How'd THAT happen?"

When Sienna and Carter had reluctantly sat as well, Carter saw no choice but to briefly recount the tale. When he finished, Taylor nodded and stared at him for such a long time, Carter eventually grew uneasy.

"What?!"

"Well, aren't you gonna introduce us?"

Carter rolled his eyes and pointed at each of them lazily in turn.

"Taylor, Sienna. Sienna, Taylor."

Sienna, who had been zoning in and out of the conversation as she gazed around her, suddenly grew more interested.

"Taylor? Commander Taylor?"

"In the flesh."

"I did a project on you at school."

"Oh?" Taylor grinned down at her. "Did you get a good grade?"

Sienna stared seriously at him.

"I never get bad grades."

Taylor laughed approvingly.

"Very good! I never got good grades as a youngster. Too many other things to do."

Carter snorted.

"I never got any grades." As the other two looked up at him, he added by way of explanation, "I never did the work."

"Ah." Taylor nodded and shot a knowing look at Sienna, who smiled back. "I see."

Sienna suddenly changed the subject.

"Will we be safe out here?"

"Jungle's never safe." Taylor answered. "But I'll stay with you tonight, just to make sure nothing eats you."

Carter rolled his eyes as Sienna replied politely.

"Thank you."

Taylor grinned down at her.

"Why, you're very welcome, young lady."

* * *

"What do you mean, 'it's irreparable'?"

Lucas glanced uncomfortably at Malcolm before turning back to Mira.

"Look, I tried. But without the proper components, it's impossible." He watched her in frustrated sympathy. "I'm sorry."

Mira only stared at him, her expression exactly the same as it had been for the past few minutes.

"You're sorry? You haven't tried."

"No, we have tried. We've tried everything. It's no use."

"Try harder! If you can't fix it, no one can."

Lucas sighed and shrugged helplessly.

"Then I guess no one can."

Mira watched him coldly.

"I guess not. I've never heard of such a useless genius. Should've left you back in the Badlands. I never want to set eyes on you again."

Lucas rubbed his side as though it was hurting him, regardless of the fact that the pain had disappeared some time ago.

"The truth is, you didn't care enough. If she was YOUR daughter, you would've tried harder. You would've done it."

Lucas shook his head, but said nothing.

"Mira!" Malcolm took up the charge, looking at her rebukingly. "It's not his fault. There's no one on earth - this one or the last one - that could've fixed it. No one's going back. Ever."

"I'll get back." Mira shook her head with contempt. "I'll get back somehow, no matter what it takes to do it."

The two scientists were left standing alone then, as Mira turned on her heel and walked angrily out of the room. Malcolm patted Lucas' shoulder.

"Don't worry. She'll come around. It's a hard blow, but no one could've put that piece of junk back together again, any more than you can make a dead bird fly."

Lucas raised his eyebrows at Malcolm.

"You can always throw it."

Malcolm frowned at his apprentice and shook his head as Lucas began to walk away.

"You know you have issues, right?"

Lucas glanced back over his shoulder and smiled at Malcolm, but said nothing, his thoughts soon turning back to Mira.

The leader of the Sixers hadn't gotten very far. She'd barely made it out of the Lab before the tears came, and now she was sitting, distraught and in the dark, in a corner of her own house. She shook her head and clung to her knees tightly as her vision blurred once again.

"Oh, Sienna. Sienna, my baby. My baby!"

Mira lay her head down in despair as her body was racked with heartbroken sobs.

* * *

Carter swore he only closed his eyes for a second that night, but when he opened them again, a gentle light was streaming into the jungle, Sienna was still asleep in front of him, and Taylor was nowhere to be seen.

"Guess our guardian angel's gone." He muttered to himself, causing Sienna to stir. If he hadn't had such a good grip on her, she would've rolled sideways out of the tree. As it was, she simply looked up at him sleepily.

"Are we going to see my mom now?"

"Sure." Carter swung himself down and then helped the little girl down after him. Sienna folded her arms as they began walking again.

"I'm hungry."

"Of course you are."

"Well, I am!"

Carter glanced down at her and pulled a rough brown substance out of his vest pocket. He handed it to her without a word. Sienna took it and stared suspiciously at it.

"It looks disgusting."

"Just eat it."

She took a tentative bite and looked up at him, chewing wearily. A few minutes later, she swallowed, and was able to speak again.

"It's nicer than it looks!"

Carter narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her.

"You like it?"

She nodded, and Carter shook his head in surprise.

"You'd be the first."

"Why?"

"Cause it's disgusting."

He laughed then, and Sienna grinned up at him, but kept eating it.

"When will we get there?"

"Look."

As they left the trees and came to the top of the hill, Carter pointed out over the land in front of them.

"See that blue circle over there?"

Sienna nodded.

"Yes."

"Well, keep your eye on that place, because that's where we're heading."

Sienna looked up at him.

"What is it?"

"That .." Carter hesitated and glanced down at her eager face, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia wash over him. He looked up and let his eyes rest on the familiar landscape once more, smiling faintly as he did so.

"That .. is Terra Nova."


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

Lucas walked to the Lab that morning to take one final look at the Portal. Maybe he'd missed something, maybe there was still a way to get it up and running .. but deep down, he knew there wasn't. He'd tried everything. Malcolm had tried everything. The Portal was dead. Ignoring the usual suspicious glances of passing colonists, he entered the Lab and headed to the small corner room he was using with a tired sigh. Malcolm wasn't there, evidently. The lights were still switched off. Without bothering to switch them on, Lucas walked in quietly and placed a hand on the rough metal. It certainly wasn't a pretty sight. They had had to weld various pieces of scrap metal together to even get it resembling a Portal again. He ran a hand along the faint welded lines gently.

"I'm sorry. You were never meant to fly again, were you? It's over."

At the sound of his soft voice, something stirred across the room. He looked around to see Mira leaning back against the other side of the Portal. She looked horrible. Lucas found himself wondering if she'd slept in days. He wandered towards her, finally ending up leaning against the wall beside her. She didn't look at him. Lucas folded his arms and returned his gaze to the dark figure of the Portal.

"How long have you been here?"

Mira was silent for a few moments before she answered.

"I don't know. A while."

Lucas glanced at her before turning away again. Mira sounded suspiciously like she had a cold.

"I'm sorry we couldn't fix it. We tried."

"You already said that."

Mira looked at him this time, and he slid down the wall to a sitting position, still staring around the dark room rather than looking at her.

"Well, it's the truth."

"I know." Mira gave him a weak smile and shook her head fiercely as tears came into her eyes once again. She cleared her throat and her voice took on its old commanding edge once again. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I apologise."

"It's alright."

They sat in silence for a while in the dim light, sitting almost opposite each other, but never looking at one another. Neither of them could have said exactly how long it was that they sat there, but though Mira never mentioned it afterwards, she was glad of the company. It was the worst - (and subsequently best, though I'm getting ahead of myself) - day of her life, and Lucas proved to be a small comfort in his own way. They remained like this until the stir of excited voices outside brought them to their feet.

* * *

"It's bigger than it looked!" Sienna stared around with wide eyes as they approached the colony gates.

"Nah, it's not that big."

Sienna ignored him and looked up at the guard towers.

"What are those for?!"

"To keep people like us out."

"What?" Sienna looked up at him in concern and he hurriedly amended his statement.

"They're for keeping out dinosaurs, like the one we met last night."

"Oh. Why did you say people?"

With Sienna frowning at him, Carter signalled to the guards.

"I was tryna be funny."

"It wasn't funny."

Whatever remained of that conversation was lost as the gate began to open. Sienna stared up in awe as the beams rose high into the air and they passed underneath. The second they stepped through, a nearby soldier called out in a laughing voice.

"Where'd you get that one from, Carter? Still doin' the Stork's dirty work? How much do you owe it?"

As the soldier and his friends collapsed into fits of laughter, Carter rolled his eyes and kept walking. Sienna hadn't understood a word of what the strange man had said, but it was soon thrown out of her mind as they continued through the colony. She stared up at the Command Centre as they passed it, and Carter followed her gaze. One of the oldest buildings in Terra Nova, it had survived the occupation and still stood in its place, the bamboo structure outlined against the bright blue of the late morning sky. Carter found himself feeling a certain amount of respect for it. Throughout war, disease, disaster, and tumultuous changes in leadership, it had remained and outlasted them all. He drew his eyes away to focus on the nearby markets. The odd pair was already drawing several curious stares from amongst the stalls. He was about to suggest they go around when Sienna suddenly darted forward.

"Look!"

He followed reluctantly, trying to appear as though he wasn't about to anxiously run after a little girl. Sienna had only stopped in front of one stall for a moment before moving on to the next. As Carter finally caught up with her, he looked over to see Skye leaning on a neighbouring stall, watching them in amusement. Just then, the little girl slipped away again and ran over to another stall.

"Sienna-" Carter cut the sharp word off with an irritated grunt and turned to Skye in annoyance. "Little help?"

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head slowly.

"I'm good."

Regardless of Skye's apparent indifference, she followed slowly as Carter tailed Sienna through the markets. As they came out the other side, he grasped the little girl's shoulder.

"Stop running off! Do you want to see your mother or not?"

Sienna looked up at him with bright eyes.

"Yes!"

"Then let's go."

As Carter set off again in relief, Skye appeared on the other side of Sienna, casually wandering along with them. After a moment, Sienna looked up at her.

"Who are you?"

"Skye."

With that, Skye held her hand out to Sienna and the girl shook it, causing the small party to halt. Carter folded his arms and glared at them both. Skye and Sienna took no notice.

"Where did you come from?"

"Through the whirlpool. I'm Sienna. Mira's my mother."

Skye exchanged a surprised glance with Carter. He shrugged, his previous annoyance multiplied by the fact that Sienna seemed to instantly like Skye more than him.

"Do you know her?" Sienna was saying as Skye turned back to her. "Do you know my mother?"

Skye hesitated, with another glance at Carter.

".. yes. As a matter of fact, I do."

"You do?!"

Skye nodded slowly and Carter took over.

"Yes, she does, but if we don't get on with it, you're never going to see her yourself."

At this horrible threat, Sienna grasped Carter's hand again and looked up expectantly. Carter shot a satisfied look at Skye before continuing on.

"Very well. Her house is just up here .." As Skye proceeded to walk with them, he turned to her. "You don't have to come."

"I know."

As she evidently had nothing else to say on the matter, he dropped the subject, trying to subdue the annoyance that had begun creeping up again. As they neared the Lab, the plexiglass door of the large blue building suddenly opened and Lucas stepped out. He immediately noticed the strange party and began walking towards them with a curious frown, causing Carter to mutter under his breath.

"Here we go."

They stopped again as Lucas reached them. After a few seconds of thoughtful silence in which he studied Sienna closely, Lucas looked up at Carter.

"Who is this?"

"This is-"

"Sienna!" Sienna stuck her hand out to him in much the same fashion as Skye had done only minutes earlier. He shook it gravely and glanced back to Carter.

"How .. ?"

Carter shrugged.

"Long story."

"Mira's .. in there."

As Lucas gestured back to the Lab, the door opened again and Mira suddenly stepped out. Carter frowned as he saw her. She was only a shadow of what she'd been when he left. Colony life evidently didn't suit her. The three adults watched in silence as Mira's gaze fell upon them. Sienna stared at her with shining eyes as Mira froze in shock. The next few moments seemed to last forever, but finally Mira began to walk slowly towards them. Carter placed his hands on Sienna's shoulders as Lucas fell back to stand beside Skye. As her mother approached, Sienna suddenly averted her eyes, feeling uncharacteristically shy. Mira knelt down before her and looked up at Carter questioningly. He nodded in reply.

"This is Sienna."

Mira reached out a shaking hand and cupped her daughter's chin. As Sienna looked up to meet her gaze slowly, Mira stared into her daughter's face. After a moment, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. As Mira's eyes began to glisten with tears, Sienna suddenly lurched forward and threw her arms around her mother's neck. Mira held Sienna tightly and buried her head in her daughter's shoulder as her own shoulders began to shake.

"My baby .."

* * *

Half an hour later, they had updated Jim and Malcolm on the situation and were all gathered in the Command Centre to view the contents of Sienna's holographic drive. Carter had retold the story of how he came across her (with a fair bit of "help" from Sienna), along with the strange portion about Commander Taylor. Jim and Lucas had exchanged a look upon hearing the latter part, Jim eventually ending the resulting conversation with,

"Well, he's still out there and he's perfectly fine - thriving, even - just as we all knew he would be, though I'm very glad to have confirmation of it. Alright Lucas, roll film."

Lucas complied, accepting the device gently from Sienna's outstretched hand. He turned and plugged it into the Box, which was sitting on the Commander's desk. Once it was in, he stepped back, and they all watched impatiently as a hologram shot up into the air above the table.

"Grandfather!" Sienna cried in delight, and Mira tightened her grip on her daughter's arms.

The man in the hologram paced around a little, appearing distressed.

"I'm not ready, I'm not ready .."

After a few seconds, he turned and looked straight at them.

"Mira. It's time. It'll have to be, because they're on to me now. They've discovered the fact that I've been siphoning power from the power grid to use in my own project. I had planned on taking an extra few months to get things ready, but it'll have to be done now."

He ran his hands through his receding hair and glanced around the room before continuing.

"I've had my scientists working on a way to destroy the fracture - and I don't just mean Hope Plaza. They believe they've created a device that, when placed near the fracture and triggered upon dilation, will cause it to implode, destroying any hope of ever using it again. I had hoped to join you in the new world with Sienna, but I fear for my own safety. If this makes it to you, I must not have gotten away, but Sienna has, and for that, I'm grateful. I loved you like my own, little one. Have a wonderful life, full of just as much hope and colour as you brought me. Mira, I'm sorry you will never be able to return here, but I hope you'll both-"

He stopped abruptly then and stared at what appeared to be a security monitor beside him.

"They're coming. They'll discover it soon!"

With this alarming statement, he held up what one could only assume to be a remote detonator and smiled.

"Say goodbye to Hope Plaza once again. Soon you'll be holding your daughter in your arms." He suddenly laughed in delight and turned to look out the window. "Morior invictus!"

As a noise resembling an enormous clap of thunder burst from somewhere outside, he ran towards them and pulled the feed with a final laugh. The hologram disappeared abruptly and the room fell silent. They stared around at each other for a moment before Sienna suddenly made an odd choking noise.

"He took good care of me."

"Yes, he did." Mira sighed and patted her daughter's head. "But I think it's time you see where you're going to sleep now, don't you?"

Sienna looked up tearfully and nodded as Mira smiled.

"Come on. It's been a big day for all of us." Before leaving the room, she turned to Carter and put a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her in surprise as she stared solemnly at him.

"Thank you. I'll never be able to repay you."

Carter shook his head and smiled as Mira and Sienna turned away.

"Don't mention it."

Gradually, they all filed out of the room, leaving Jim and Malcolm behind to discuss what they'd seen. Lucas walked down the steps of the Command Centre thoughtfully, pausing about halfway to watch Mira put her arm around her daughter as they walked off. As they faded from his view, Skye silently appeared beside him. Without even acknowledging her presence, he began talking, as if to himself.

"Can't imagine what they see in each other, can you?"

Skye scoffed.

"Never heard of love?"

"Love. There's only two people in this world I even care about .." He turned to her with a laugh. ".. and they both live at your house!"

If he had expected her to laugh with him, he was to be sorely disappointed. Instead, she shook her head and fixed him with a meaningful stare.

"Come on, we both know that isn't true."

He watched her for a few moments before turning back to stare at the place he'd last seen Mira and Sienna a moment ago.

"Maybe not."

They continued down the steps in silence. As they reached the bottom, Skye suddenly looked up at him.

"Do you think he really blew up the fracture?"

Lucas shrugged.

"It's possible, I suppose. Not likely, but possible."

Skye walked along beside him quietly, looking around at the colony activity that lay softly enveloped in the golden light of the late afternoon sun.

"What about the other fractures? Can they get through there?"

"Again, it's possible." At Skye's vaguely annoyed glance, he laughed. "Yes. With the right technology in the right place, they could theoretically get through."

As his companion frowned, he added,

"But the fractures in the future obviously haven't been well-researched yet, and judging by the figurehead, they may be in the middle of the ocean somewhere. The fractures may be there, but with no equipment or facilities to expand them, it's going to take a while until they come back .. if ever."

"But you think they will?"

Skye looked up at him questioningly, and Lucas fell silent for a moment before looking down to meet her gaze with a small shrug.

"Time will tell."

* * *

".. and the bottle ended up on the floor with the contents all over his lap!" Josh shook his head with a pained expression as Maddy shouted with laughter. "So believe me, regardless of what you did to him, he'll always hate me more."

Maddy shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye.

"I can't believe I've never heard that story before."

"I can't believe you both somehow managed to assault the same poor old man!" Elisabeth exchanged a bemused laugh with Zoe from the other end of the table as Josh grinned.

"Come on, Mom. You said yourself he deserved it."

Elisabeth looked at him with a surprised frown as her husband entered the room.

"I certainly said no such thing!"

"Who's this?" Jim sat down at the table and looked around at his family members. "Who have we 'assaulted' today?"

Maddy and Josh sat looking somewhat guilty as Elisabeth replied.

"Mr. Wendell."

"Oh, HIM." Jim laughed. "Well, add me to the list of Shannons he doesn't like then. I almost ran over him with the Rover the other day."

"Jim!"

"What?! The man doesn't watch where he's going, Elisabeth! It's not my fault if he jumps out in front of every passing vehicle!"

Their children erupted with laughter as Elisabeth shook her head in pretend shock. Jim grinned around at them, not appearing remorseful in the least. As they began to eat, Elisabeth looked up at him.

"Heard you had an interesting day."

"Oh .. yeah .." Jim sat and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "It's a good thing Carter was there when she came through, you know. Little girl like that wouldn't survive long in the wilderness."

"I could!" Zoe chimed in, and Josh looked over at her.

"No, you couldn't! One little carno and SNAP!" He reached across the table and clapped in her face as he said this. ".. you'd be a very small lunch for a very hungry dinosaur."

"Josh .." His mother chided him as Zoe scowled.

"I'm not very small! I've grown two whole inches since we got here!"

"Alright, alright .." Jim hurriedly changed the subject. "Gonna be hard for that little kid to settle in, but Mira seems willing to stay and make a home for her. I think they'll be alright. You might even see her at school, Zoe!"

Zoe frowned at him.

"Why? Will Mira be teaching my class?"

Jim snorted inelegantly.

"Uh. No. I don't think so." He swallowed a laugh with difficulty and glanced at Elisabeth, who looked as though she was trying not to laugh herself. "I meant Sienna."

"Oh."

"I'm so glad things are getting back to normal again .." Maddy hesitated as the others stared at her. ".. well, more normal. The new normal. You know what I mean!"

Josh shook his head calmly.

"Nope! Not really. But then, this is you we're talking abOUT-"

With a shove from his sister that almost sent him flying off his chair, he subsided into his dinner. Maddy continued.

"Do you think the Phoenix Group will be back?"

Jim shrugged.

"Hard to say! I don't think it'd be very smart to come up against the colony again, so if I had to make a guess, I'd say no. Never can tell though."

After a few seconds of silence, Zoe suddenly looked up at Josh with a grin.

"Leah likes you."

Josh almost choked and stared at his little sister, placing his fork down with forced calm as he smiled.

"Well, why wouldn't she? I'm a very likeable guy!"

Zoe shrugged.

"She doesn't think so, but she likes you anyway."

Maddy exploded beside him as Josh actually began to go a light shade of pink. As the rest of the family dissolved into giggles, Elisabeth took pity on her son and stepped in to rescue him.

"Come on now. Leave your brother alone."

As the laughter died down and everyone resumed eating, Jim turned to a different subject.

"I hear the Market Festival is coming up again soon."

Maddy nodded.

"Yup! Mark has already asked if he can escort me."

"How sweet."

Josh made a gagging motion at Zoe, who grinned back. As Elisabeth shook her head and smiled encouragingly at Maddy, Jim turned to Josh solemnly.

"What about you, son? Can we assume you're going to be taking Leah this year?"

Maddy and Zoe burst into merciless laughter again as Josh sat back and stared at his father, shaking his head in disappointment. Elisabeth gave up on eating and put her head in her hands. As Jim glanced at Maddy's red, tear-streaked face, he collapsed into laughter as well. Josh shook his head again and stared around at his hysterical family with a long-suffering smile.

"Oh, very funny, guys. _Verrrrry_ funny."


	51. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The sun was already high in the sky by the time Snakehead Falls came into view. As Skye wandered contentedly up over the rocks, she found her mind drifting back to a certain day several months ago. Back then, the world had been cold and quiet, not even her jacket had been able to hold back the piercing chill of the wind. Now, as she looked around, it seemed to have erupted with colour. The forest surrounding the Falls was bursting with deep green, causing the cascading water in the centre to stand out even more than it usually did. The white torrent washed over the worn rocks and wound down to where it passed close by her feet. Skye followed the trickling stream up the mountain a little ways. She could hear the colourful prehistoric birds, calling each other happily from way up in the trees overhead. As she looked up to see if she could spot them, her eyes fell on something else. The old calculations. She shook her head slowly, smiling to herself. They were a little faded, but still there. How much longer would they continue to deface the side of the mountain? Maybe the stubborn etchings would stay forever, becoming part of the legacy of Snakehead Falls itself. She supposed, in a way, they already were.

As she approached the foot of the Falls, the thunderous roar began to drown out every other noise. The sound of her footsteps disappeared and the chirping of the birds died away. Soon she could no longer hear the soft gurgling of the stream as it made its never-ending way down the slope. The sun was beating down on her head hotly now. She found herself very glad of the spray that leaped off the turbulent water and came to rest on her warm face. Skye squinted her eyes against the glare and stared up at the plummeting water. There was something comforting in the fact that it was still here .. that whatever happened in the future, here it would remain, if they were careful to protect it. The last few times she'd seen the Falls had been under strange circumstances, full of hidden danger and uncertainty. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today, there were no Sixers to hide from, no injured madmen lurking in the caves nearby- Skye opened her eyes abruptly as her sense of peace disappeared. At least, she very much hoped there weren't. She turned around quickly and slipped into her cave, spending a very tense few seconds waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they had, she released a rather large sigh of relief. It was empty .. well, almost. Shaking her head and laughing at herself, Skye knelt to pick up the small lantern that had lived there for some time. Its light had well and truly gone out long ago, but here it remained, guarding the little cave against unwelcome intruders. She shook it gently and it flickered, only to die out again a moment later. She shook it more firmly this time, and it sprang into life like a tiny lighthouse, illuminating the cave with its friendly glow. Skye sat back on her heels and looked around. Once, she had sworn never to enter this cave again. It had become the scene of many of her nightmares and for a while, she had hated the thought of it. Now that she had finally returned to it, she found her old affection for the place resurfacing. After staring at the valiant lantern for another few seconds, Skye pocketed it and stood. With a last glance around, she exited the cave. The last time she had made the trek up the Falls, this place had put an abrupt stop to her journey. Now, however, she continued climbing. The terrain was steep and slippery in places, but Skye was a determined being, and soon reached the top. She stared out at the picturesque sight in front of her, first one way and then the other. The view from the very top of the mountain was impressive no matter where you looked. On the side she had just come from, the Falls could be seen below, falling down into the cavern before morphing into a glittering stream that snaked its way down the mountainside. Beyond it were the forests, and if you turned a little, you might just be able to make out a flash of light through the trees where the surface of Arrowpoint Lake met the sun. On Skye's other side, the cliff fell steeply. She balanced herself sufficiently and gazed out at the sight beneath her. Terra Nova. As she stared at the familiar circle, she could almost make out the movement of the colonists below, going about their everyday business. Jim would be somewhere near the Command Centre, overseeing the day's activities, the markets would be open and buzzing with people, and the school and the other public buildings would be much the same. Skye's mind drifted over to the Infirmary. Somewhere down there, Josh was working alongside his mother. He was getting along well with his medical studies - surprisingly well depending on who you talked to - and his mother had high hopes for him. She grinned and shook her head. He really was trying his hardest to be as helpful as possible, and strangely enough, whenever the Infirmary needed more medicinal herbs, he volunteered to go! Maddy was still working in the Lab as Malcolm's assistant .. well, one of Malcolm's assistants. She had had some problems working alongside Lucas at first, but seeing as Malcolm refused to acknowledge any potential issues with the arrangement, she had learned to live with it, and was actually learning a lot from him, though she would forever refuse to admit it. Lucas had settled back down into his house, but was now - to all casual observers - unguarded. Malcolm had never gotten around to making him a new set of cuffs, and so Lucas now often found himself wandering peacefully among the "little colony people". He was still watched like a hawk, however, and every so often he would stray to the fence just to initiate a conversation with the various members of the security team who would appear out of nowhere at that very second. Other times, he would content himself with waving politely at the binoculars of the guards as he walked by. After Mira had moved into a new house with Sienna, Carter hadn't stayed in the colony long. He had disappeared again one night and they awoke to find his bed empty. He would drop in occasionally, but lived largely in the wilderness. Skye raised her eyes and stared out at the trees and plains beyond the colony. No one had heard from or about Taylor since Sienna's return, but they had a feeling he wasn't far. Every now and then, a strange call would drift over the colony on the wind and Jim would smile to himself. It was on these nights that Lucas had the most trouble sleeping. As for what was left of the Phoenix Group .. no one knew. That day in the Badlands was the last anyone had seen of them. Skye folded her arms and took a deep breath. Was Hooper even still alive? And what of the fractures - the colony looked peaceful enough today, but would it remain that way for long? What else was just over the horizon?

She lifted her chin up stubbornly as the wind ruffled her hair. Whatever lay waiting for them in the shadowy arms of the future, they would face it. If more trouble was to come, they would be prepared for it. Bring on the battles, the unexplainable mysteries, the betrayals and the redemptions. Life was uncertain, and intermingled with the joy came inevitable losses. Their enemies were still out there somewhere, waiting, planning. The colony below was plagued every day by creatures that threatened their survival. But in the end, as Skye looked down over her home, she was certain of one thing. In the end, they would survive.

**The End**

**..**

**_or is it?_**

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

Ahoy, fren. Well, if you made it this far, I honestly don't know what to tell you! "Congratulations"? "Thank you"? "I admire your dedication"? All of the above?  
In all seriousness, I really am thankful that you took the time to read this. It's by FAR the longest story I've ever written (and probably the longest one I'll ever write). I left it open for possible further developments though, just in case. If you (like my Dad, haha!) were disappointed that there wasn't much romance, I apologise. Love stories aren't really my forte. I was trying really hard to keep the characters IN character, and I'm not sure I could've done that AND added romance as well! Come the end of the story, they're more or less where I wanted them - as friends. Whatever comes after that is up to our imaginations!  
Thanks again for reading, and I hope to see you again one day.  
(sorry, I need at least one XD in here. I'm having withdrawals)  
_XD XD_

\- George DeWhite


	52. References

**References: **

_As I wrote this story, I sent it to my younger sister Ruggie (also known as Ruthie) chapter by chapter. Rug loves Terra Nova every bit as much as I do, and the fact that it ended so abruptly drove us both mad. This (long) story is a direct result of that raging insanity (I'm kidding! That was .. a little dramatic. Moving on ..)._

_We spend a lot of time together and so have a lot of inside jokes and tend to get each other's references. You'll find a lot of the references I put in here were for Ruggie's benefit. I often heard her groaning (or screeching) after reading them, so suffice it to say, most of them had their intended effect! x] _

_Without Rug's help and encouragement, I never would've finished this story, so .. thank you, Ruggie. Very much. Now to the references (and there are .. quite a few ..)!_

* * *

**Chapter 2 – "It had come to this."**

A reference to the line "Sadly, it had come to this." in Studio C's video Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", Christmas Edition, which we'd watched just before I wrote the chapter.

**Chapter 3 – "soldier's shoulder"**

A reference to a hilarious conversation me and Ruggie were having about how hard it was to say 'soldier's shoulder' one after the other.

Repeated again in Chapter 45 as a callback to it.

**Chapter 5 – "Orange."**

A nod to THE ORANGE that Josh brings home in the beginning of the Pilot.

**Chapter 6 – "Skye had failed. He would not."**

Not an intended reference, but reminds Ruggie of the scene in the Last Jedi where Rey says, "Kylo failed you. I won't."

Rug: "Skye failed me. I won't."

**Chapter 7 – "Canasta!"**

Referencing the part in Puss in Boots where Jill says, "Canasta!" just before Puss gets whacked. Something else we watched just before Christmas ..

**Chapter 8 – "Zoe .." "Shannon." "Shannon .. of course!"**

Not a reference exactly, but INCESSANTLY reminds me of "Are we to be invaded by every Bennett in the country?!" from Pride and Prejudice.

**Chapter 8 – "Still staring at him unflinchingly with those big eyes"**

Haha. A reference to something I always tease a friend of ours (SacredFir) about. She thinks Tony Stark has big eyes (and she loves them. Don't listen to a word of her protestations). Right, Firball?

**Chapter 9 – "He had gotten the distinct impression he was being watched."**

Vague reference to Person of Interest – "You are being watched."

Also in Chapter 49.

**Chapter 10 – "Not if you paid me a million pounds!"**

Reference to a couple of lines we often quote to annoy each other (which is the intention behind the majority of the things we quote, let's be honest) –

"Gosh, Alf, I'd pay a million pounds a week!"  
"And I'd take it, only you haven't got it."

(George and Alf - Episode 1, Famous Five 1995)

**Chapter 14 – "Elisabeth opened the tea jar"**

We used to have an old green jar that we kept tea leaves in. It smelt so nice whenever you opened it, and we loved it. I can't remember where it went or what happened to it, but it lives on in our memories.

**Chapter 14 – "Guess you never can tell what direction people are going to go in."**

Our sister had recently decided, seemingly out of the blue, that she was going to start training to be a primary school teacher. She was NEVER the type I would've picked to be a teacher, so the fact that I was still reeling from it was apparently reflected in my writing!

**Chapter 16 – "he spent most of his time drinking. In his study."**

The drinking and study part was inspired by my favourite Terra Nova fanfic – The Grinch by Emtheunicorn. I've read it out to Ruggie for the past couple of Christmases, and after discovering it, I could only ever see the scenes after Ayani's death set in Taylor's study!

**Chapter 18 – "I thought you should all be here for this auspicious occasion."**

Reference to another Studio C video – Edmond and Fernand: BFFs. Thanks to that video, me and Rug make a point of pronouncing the word "auspicious" to sound as much like the character as possible and use it whenever the opportunity presents itself, hence its appearance here.

**Chapter 19 – "She was determined."**

Hehe. A reference to the "I am determined." line from Persuasion, put in specifically for Ruggie's benefit, of course. I often compare her to Anne Elliot, and she rather detests it.

**Chapter 19 – "Monica Karlpring"**

Ha, this name. I'll start with the Monica.

Monica was an Adventures in Odyssey character that appeared in the Novacom Saga. I always liked her, so I borrowed her name. Karlpring came from a mashup of Karl and Pringle, which may or may not make sense in a second. When we were much younger, I used to tell my little sisters stories at night when we were supposed to be going to sleep. One such series of bedtime stories featured a woman we only knew as Miss Pringle, and a man called Karl, who was somewhat of a criminal and lived in a cave in the woods with his laptop as his most prized possession (said laptop was broken more often than not, so he went through quite a few). THAT was where the name came from. Throwback to much-loved moments from years long ago.

(Interestingly enough, both me and Ruggie came to the separate conclusion that Monica had a Scottish accent!)

**Chapter 22 – "Maybe Mira's just a very private person."**

Another Person of Interest reference. Finch being a "very private person" is a running line in the series.

**Chapter 23 – "Her, I cared about."**

Reference to the Robin Hood BBC series. There was a line John often used: "Her, we liked." or "Him, I do not like."

**Chapter 26 – "Nexis chips"**

Reference to an episode in the Astro Boy 2003 series. Dr. Pavlos was building "Nexus chips", intended to "override kokoro, making robots obey as they should". I just changed the spelling slightly.

**Chapter 26 – "imagine being the beauty that tames .. the beast"**

ROFL, okay .. this horrible part was a reference to the ridiculous 'imagines' that me and Ruggie kept seeing everywhere online. They were simultaneously hilarious and terrifying, so naturally we had to pay tribute to them.

**Chapter 26 – "I'm so bad!"**

Reference to a Trey Kennedy video (Girls during Christmas season be like..). We've watched that particular video .. ahem .. several times .. and quote it a lot. Haha! But seriously, watch it. It's hilarious.

**Chapter 28 – "Elisabeth handed him a small tub of something."**

Vague reference to the time when I got some lovely purple bruising on my arm from hitting it with my bowstring (seriously, though, it looked like a little galaxy on my forearm – I was rather attached to it), and Mum MADE me put arnica cream on it. A lot. The cream came in a little tub, which plagued me from the kitchen counter for weeks. Hence the 'small tub'.

**Chapter 29 – "Douglas"**

I think this was a nod to Douglas Fargo off Eureka .. at least, that's what I think of every time I hear the name!

**Chapter 31 – "Chaos Theory"**

Referencing another of Rug's favourite fictional characters – Dr. Ian Malcolm.

**Chapter 31 – "Roxanne"**

Almost certainly a reference to Roxanne Ritchi, from Megamind (also known as the best movie ever made besides How To Train Your Dragon).

**Chapter 31 – "But we need these devices!"**

Too vague to be an actual reference, but ALWAYS reminds me of that hilarious Tumblr post:

"imagine life without bread."

"but i knead bread"

**Chapter 32 – "But your mom .. !"**

Not at all an intended reference, but to my great annoyance, CONSTANTLY reminds me of "But my mom .. President of Hot Tunes TV! In China .." off Camp Rock. Constantly. I cri.

**Chapter 35 – "Barney"**

Barney was the name of my first Nintendog (a Dalmatian), and I happened to be thinking about it when I wrote this chapter.

**Chapter 35 – "nanosecond"**

Another Astro Boy 2003 reference. "Back in a nanosec" was one of his (Astro's) repeated phrases.

Repeated in Chapter 47.

**Chapter 35 – "Rooney"**

Another nod to Person of Interest. One of the main character's common aliases was John Rooney.

**Chapter 35 – "Jurassic predator"**

Now, let me explain. I know very well that the Kaprosuchus, IF it existed in its current form, is not categorised in the Jurassic era (but, I mean, who really knows for certain, and fiction tends to deviate from prehistoric ages anyway). This phrase was added in purely to drive Ruggie mad, because we'd recently attempted to watch a movie called Jurassic Predator, which rapidly leaped to the top of our Worst Movies of All Time list. I have a feeling it was trying to be bad on purpose, but regardless, it has become notorious in our family, hence the reference. She was virtually pounding her fists on her desk in anger as she read it though, so scientifically correct or not, it was worth it! Hehe.

**Chapter 36 – "He walked in the direction of Lucas' house."**

Also not a reference, but always reminds me of "They walked in the direction of .. the church.", also from Pride and Prejudice.

**Chapter 36 – "Not good."**

A wave to Scorpion - Happy's catchprase.

**Chapter 37 – "Occam's Razor"**

Two reasons for this, actually. One, an online buddy of ours (Loggy) jokingly remarked that all sci-fi stories ought to mention Occam's Razor at least once, and two, it doubled as a nod to Eureka – another sci-fi TV show that had to make a mention of it at least once.

**Chapter 37 – "you were the one that came up with .. all this .."**

Aha! Finally a How To Train Your Dragon reference. If you have no idea which bit it's referring to, I'm not gonna tell you. Watch the movie.

**Chapter 37 – "No, I'm with you."**

Quote from Megamind. Hehe.

**Chapter 37 – "Well, that was way too easy."**

ANOTHER Astro Boy 2003 quote! My goodness.

**Chapter 39 – "Skye replied, popping the P awkwardly"**

Haha! A couple of online friends of ours were talking about how they were reading a fanfic and every few sentences they would write "popping the P". It was, apparently, infuriating, but the conversation was very funny, so I had to pay homage to it.

**Chapter 39 – "Ty"**

Dedicated to our online buddy Mollusk's plant son, who sadly passed away only a few short weeks after he was brought into this world. RIP, Ty.

**Chapter 39 – "trying to spread a very small amount of butter over a piece of bread"**

"Like butter over too much bread". Knead I say more?

_(if I need say more, it's from Fellowship of the Ring)_

**Chapter 43 – "My berries!"**

.. come on, it's that Vine. One of our most-quoted Vines, and by now it has so many extra layers of inside jokes added to it, it'd take forever to explain it (and when I'd finished, it probably STILL wouldn't make any sense).

Just .. that Vine.

**Chapter 45 – "Sleek, smooth, and surprisingly cool to the touch"**

"Smoooooth to the touch."  
"Easy, Tiger."

Flushed Away. Haha.

**Chapter 45 – "You going to shoot me?"**

Quote from The Pretender. Miss Parker, I believe, but as of right now, the internet is down (AGAIN), so I can't double-check it.

**Chapter 45 – "Who needs you anyway?!"**

Reference to that Land Before Time song, "Who Needs You (Not Me!)?"

**Chapter 48 – "patted Lucas' leg. "Here, move over." "**

Reference to the "Move the leg." scene with Tony and Peter from Civil War.

**Chapter 48 – "he nestled his heavy head into the soft pillow"**

This whole paragraph was because of an ongoing thing we (me and Ruggie) had with our Skype buddy, Stormie. She often stays up late, and I like to tell her short stories that are as sleep-inducing as possible to try and make her want to go to bed! Hehe. So if anyone out there is up late and reading this – yes, it's time to go to bed.

**Chapter 50 - "Morior invictus!"**

Direct quote from Person of Interest. RIP, Anthony ..

**Epilogue – "full of hidden danger and uncertainty"**

An extremely necessary nod to "It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were."

* * *

**_And that .. as one is wont to say .. is that._**


End file.
